Too Late to Turn Back Now
by jsjazz13
Summary: Haley James thought her life was perfect until Damien Scott's life was taken. Now his brother is hunting down the killer. The brother, who just happens to be a blue-eyed man named Nathan Scott. Now Haley must depend on the one person she hates the most. AU Naley, with BJ and LP. *Based on Manny from Guiding Light*
1. Prologue

_**Hey everybody! So a while ago I started watching Guiding Light clips of "Manny" on YouTube. For those that don't know who that is, Bethany Joy Lenz starred on the show from 1998-2000 as Michelle Bauer. Her on-screen couple of Michelle and Danny was named "Manny." I would recommend you watch the clips if you get a chance. I watch them ALL the time when I'm bored or want to procrastinate from school.**_

**_Anyway, I decided to turn the story of "Manny" into a OTH version. At first I was just writing it for fun and to help me cope with stress. But after having a friend read some of the chapters, she encouraged me to post them. I've been working on this for about 2 years because of what I do for the story. I've literally watched the clips on YouTube and written the lines down. I have slightly changed some of the lines or taken out one or two story lines, but for the most part the lines are word for word from the clips. _**

**_I will say that I thought carefully about what OTH characters would be the Guiding Light counter parts. Unfortunately because of how the characters transferred, there is a Laley romance at the beginning of story. Trust me, I HATED writing it as much as you hate reading it. But don't fear. This is a Naley story. I will never ship Laley romantically, but for the sake of the story, I had to put it in there. _**

**_I know there may be some people thinking that I'm not being very creative copying the lines verbatim from Guiding Light. But as I said, I wrote this for myself starting out so I didn't care. _**

**_I hope you guys enjoy the story and fall in love with "Manny" as much as I do! Bethany Joy is amazing as both Michelle and Haley! _**

* * *

_**Prologue**_

Haley and Lucas standing next to Lucas' car. He was about to leave, so they were saying their goodbyes. "You sure didn't pack light." Haley said, noticing the two bags Lucas had in his car.

"Well I have to be prepared for whatever the publishers want. I may have to go to fancy dinners and dress up."

"Lucas, you're only gonna be gone for a couple days." She chuckled.

"I know. But New York has some pretty strange weather sometimes. And it's not like I had a whole lot of time to sort out my clothes. I just threw it all in." Haley stood up on her tiptoes and buried her head into his neck. "I don't want to leave." He said.

Haley pulled back and looked at him confused. "What are you talking about? This is a great opportunity for you."

"I just hate leaving you by yourself."

"I hate it too, but we'll see each other before you know it. Unless you meet some New York chick and forget all about me." She half joked.

"Hey, hey. I am not gonna meet some New York chick, ok. I will never forget you." He brought his hand up and rubbed her cheek with his thumb. "I have every feature of your amazing face memorized."

"Lucas, I was just teasing. I know you love me."

"I do. And don't forget it." He said, kissing her.

Haley pulled away and smiled. "Get out of here. You'll do great."

Lucas walked around to the driver's side of his car and climbed in. He started the car and stared at Haley. He was trying to remember every single thing about her. How her hair was, how she was dressed, the little beauty mark above her lip, everything. This would be the last time he would ever see her face.

"I love you." He said, before driving away.

Haley stood there watching Lucas drive off, trying to contain the tears that were about to fall. She knew he would only be gone for a few days, but that didn't stop her from feeling like a part of her was gone.

"Isn't the wrong person running away, Haley?" a voice said.

Haley instantly recognized the voice and turned around to see Nathan standing behind her. She grew terrified. He knew.

Nathan walked toward her, forcing Haley to back up against the wall of a building. "Why? Why didn't you just tell me the truth in the beginning, Haley?"

"What truth?" she asked, beginning to cry.

"Lucas did not kill Damien, _you_ did! And now there's only one way to finish this."

"Oh my God, Nathan! You're actually gonna kill me?" she was terrified.

"Shut up!" Nathan grabbed her arm, pulling her away from the wall. "Come with me."

"I didn't mean to!" Haley pleaded.

Nathan covered her mouth with his hand and wrapped the other around her body, holding onto her tight. "The game is over, Haley. Please don't make this any harder for me than it already is."


	2. Chapter 1

Peyton Sawyer walked onto the beach. It was dark but Haley said she wanted to meet to talk about Lucas. Lucas Roe. The boy they both wanted. Well Haley already had him. Peyton had always had a thing for him and Haley knew it.

"Ok, Haley. I'm here!" Peyton said taking off her shoes. "Where the hell is she?" she asked out loud. "What is taking her so long?"

"Well, well." Peyton heard a voice say behind her. She turned to see Damien Scott walking towards her. Damien was a former employee of Peyton. Peyton owned and managed a bar, Tric. She had hired him to bar tend, but found out he was dealing drugs from inside the club. She fired him and called the police. She thought he was in jail. This was not good.

"What the hell are you doing here, Damien?" Peyton asked.

He slowly walked towards her. "I told you I had connections. They made one phone call and I was out of jail before you could say 'uh-oh'. But don't worry, I didn't say anything about you."

"You followed me here from the club." she said.

"I wanted to talk to you, Peyton, in private, without any witnesses. Calling the cops on me, now that wasn't very nice. Especially considering all the favors I did for you."

"You were messing with my club, Damien. Which means you were messing with my future. And nobody messes with _me_! So just get lost, ok." She started to walk away from him. "Cause I don't have time to-"

Damien grabbed her arms, forcing her to stop. "No, you ain't going nowhere!"

"Get your hands off me!" Peyton screamed.

"I should teach you a lesson!" he yelled back.

"Leave her alone!" they heard from behind Damien.

Damien turned to find Haley James standing there. Peyton tried to make a break for it. "Haley, please!" But Damien pulled her back and threw her in the sand. He turned around and faced Haley.

"Well, Haley." He said smirking. "I always thought you were a looker. You remember that night?" he asked, walking towards her. "In the alley, behind the diner when I told you what a beautiful face you had? Well you're even hotter looking now."

"Damien, please." Peyton said, behind him.

Damien ignored her and moved closer to Haley. "Come over here." Haley tried to run, but her grabbed her from behind, pulling her hair.

"Damien, leave her alone! You want me, not her! You have me-" Peyton screamed.

"Shut up! You messed with me, Peyton. And now I'm gonna mess with your pretty little friend here." He said, still holding onto Haley's hair. "Come on."

"Get off me, Damien!" Haley cried.

"I like a girl who gives it as much as she gets it. Come on, let's go for a ride. Just the two of us, huh?" he said, tightening his grip.

"I'm not going anywhere with you, Damien!" Haley yelled, as she elbowed him in the stomach. She tried to break from his grasp, but he continued to hold on. Only this time, he turned her around to face him. Haley continued to struggle in his grasp, thrashing around, screaming and hitting him. Trying anything to break free.

Suddenly Peyton was behind Damien, hitting him on the head with a rock. Both Peyton and Damien fell to the ground. As he got up, he held the back of his head. Peyton was terrified. Damien began walking over to her. "You really screwed up." He said, grabbing Peyton. She screamed and thrashed around. "You little-" He didn't get to finish, before another rock hit him on the back of the head. This time it was Haley.

He let go of Peyton and fell to the ground, this time not getting up. Peyton ran over to Haley and grabbed her arm. "Go! Let's go!" They both ran off leaving an unconscious Damien alone on the beach.

* * *

Peyton and Haley walked quickly into Tric. They were both still shaken up by the event that had just occurred with Damien. This was really bad.

"Hey, where'd the hell you guys go?" They heard Lucas ask. The same Lucas they were supposed to have talked about on the beach. Haley turned quickly and ran into his arms. "What happened?" he asked Peyton.

"Damien-" Peyton started.

"Damien?" Julian Baker asked walking up behind Peyton. Haley and Peyton gasped, still afraid. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I heard you mention Damien. Did something happen?"

"He attacked us." Haley answered.

"He what?" Lucas asked, looking at Haley and then at Peyton. "If I get a hold of that guy-"

"Just calm down a second." Julian interrupted. "Wait, I don't understand what happened." He said looking at Peyton for answers.

"He was dealing drugs at the club." Peyton answered, crying.

"And Peyton told him to stop-" Haley continued.

"I warned him."

"And she warned him and he wouldn't stop."

"And so I called the cops and I had him busted."

"He got out on bail." Haley said.

"I didn't know. I didn't know he would get so mad." Peyton continued to cry.

"Why didn't you tell me this, Peyton? That's what I'm here for. I should've handled that." Lucas said.

"No I am so glad you weren't anywhere near this guy. He was so out of control! You have no idea." Haley said.

Julian began hugging a still distraught Peyton. "What did he do to you?" Lucas asked.

Haley and Peyton locked eyes, silently asking the other if they should tell the whole truth. "Damien grabbed Haley…" Peyton began.

"Ok so he grabbed me and he tried to…and he kept holding me."

"I told him to leave her alone, but he wouldn't. He said he was gonna make her pay for what I did to him."

"And then-and then he kept holding me tighter and tighter and I tried to get away-" Haley said, beginning to cry again.

"You should've seen the look in his eyes."

"And then he told me we were gonna go for a ride on the beach. Just the two of us and he-"

"She tried to get away. She tried to get away." Peyton said, crying again.

"I really tried. And he just kept pulling me and trying to…and she picked up a rock and hit in the back of the head-"

"I picked up a rock and I smashed him in the back of the head with it." Peyton sobbed.

"He was really, like stunned at first and then he went after her. I didn't know what to do so I picked up the rock and I hit him again. I hit him again…" Haley said, now crying. Lucas pulled her into a hug.

"And he fell." Peyton finished.

"This guy thinks he has a headache now, wait until I get a hold of him." Lucas said, rubbing Haley's back.

The foursome was still talking when a man walked over. "I'm looking for Damien."

"Damien?" Peyton asked.

"That's what I said." The man answered back.

"Well Damien's not here." Lucas spoke up.

"Oh yea? I thought he works the bar?" the man asked.

"He does work here, but he's not-" Peyton began.

"So where is he? We got an appointment, Damien and me. And I don't appreciate being kept waiting. Know what I mean?"

"Yea I think we do." Julian said.

"What time did he say he was gonna meet you?" Haley asked.

"I don't think that's any of your business, little lady."

"Listen, uh, maybe Damien called in and left a message for you. So why don't we go in the back and check it out. Come with me this way." Lucas said, leading the man away from Haley and Peyton. Julian followed behind him. When they were out of ear shot Haley turned to Peyton.

"Why did you lie to Lucas?" she asked.

"Why did I lie? Don't you think we look stupid enough? We go to the beach? What did we go to the beach for? To talk about Lucas behind his back. No, I don't want him to know that. And let me tell you something, Haley. I don't want anyone to know about it or Damien or anything that happened. It's over. You forget it. You stuff it down deep and if you are smart you will keep your mouth shut." Peyton answered.

Haley just glared at Peyton.

Lucas, Julian and the man walked back towards Haley and Peyton.

"Look I'm sorry we didn't find a message for you from Damien." Lucas said.

"Maybe, uh Damien isn't gonna show up tonight." Julian joined in.

"Damien had a um, tickets to a concert tonight." Peyton said.

"Concert?" the man asked.

"Yea. There's a hip-hop group playing at Tree Hill University." Haley said. Lucas, Peyton and Julian all nodded in agreement.

"Well you know he was actually scouting the band." Lucas added.

"Yea they were a really cool band." Julian said.

"They opened for Drake." Peyton said.

"Shut up." the man finally said. "When Damien finally shows his face, you give him a message from Mick."

"Yea, sure. We'll do that." Lucas answered.

"Tell him my friends and I don't appreciate people who don't keep appointments. Over the years Damien's understood that pretty good. So you just tell him as a reminder." He gave the group one last look before walking away.

"One guess who posted Damien's bail." Peyton said, eyeing the man as he walked out the door.

"The guy's got connections alright." Julian said.

"Guy's _very_ connected. And that is a very big problem for us." Lucas added.

Lucas paced back and forth. "Listen, if this Mick guy had an appointment with Damien, who is obviously a well connected guy, he would've been here like he said for his appointment. If you guys only hit him in the back of the head, why isn't he here? And why isn't he taking care of you guys?" Lucas asked.

"Oh god, you're right!" Haley gasped. "We hit this guy on the back of the head with a rock. We left him there, on the beach. What-what if he's bleeding to death?"

"There's only one way to find out. We just have to go back and look for him." Julian suggested.

"Alright, me and Julian are gonna handle this." Lucas said.

"Wait, wait we have to show you where we left him."

"No. No I'm not going back there. I'm not." Peyton said.

"Are you kidding me? We just left this guy on the beach. He could-I mean what if he's…" Haley couldn't say the word. He couldn't be.

"Let's go." Lucas said as he headed for the door.

* * *

Julian, Lucas, Peyton and Haley walked onto the beach. Julian and Lucas held flashlights looking around for any sign of Damien's body.

"I don't know what I'm hoping for." Haley said.

"I hope he's gone, out of our lives for good." Peyton said.

"Yea well we can only be so lucky." Lucas said.

The group continued to walk to the spot where Damien was left. "This is where we left him, Lucas." Peyton said. "This is where he fell after Haley hit him with the rock."

"After we_ both_ hit him." Haley argued.

"Well he's not here anymore." Julian noticed.

"Maybe he got up and left. I mean thank God we didn't kill him, right." Haley offered.

"No, Haley, no. This means he angrier and he's walking around out there. No!" Peyton yelled.

"Yea, you know there's a very angry and dangerous Damien out there." Lucas added.

"If he was mad when I put him in prison, how mad do you think he's gonna be now?" Peyton asked, rhetorically.

"Hey let's hope it's just him we have to worry about. I'm mean, we've all seen what kinds of 'friends' Damien has. The guy's connected." Julian said.

"Yea and those are the type of connections known as goons. They have a nasty habit of coming around for revenge." Lucas said, before pulling a now crying Haley into his arms.

"We're in trouble. A hell of a lot of trouble." Peyton said.

* * *

They all walked back into Tric with Peyton was still semi crying. Haley suddenly stopped and turned to Peyton. "You know what? If you hadn't hit him in the head with the rock in the first place-"

"You could've been lunch meat, Haley. I saved you, ok! I saved you! Besides you were the one that knocked him out. You did it!" Peyton yelled, pointing her finger at Haley.

"It doesn't matter who did what!" Julian yelled. "Now we have got to go to the cops about this."

"You saw how easy he got out of jail the last time. We can't do that." Lucas argued.

"It means he has even more of a connection than we thought, great." Haley said.

"Wait, you mean like an in with the cops?" Julian asked.

"Yes! Maybe! And if we can't trust them who are we gonna tell?" Haley asked.

"We tell no one." Lucas said.

"What do we do when he come looking for revenge? You know he will!" Peyton said.

"We'll handle it alright?" Lucas said.

"I did this. I did this, alright. I'm sorry." Peyton said, starting to cry. "I just…I always have to push things! I had to have him arrested!"

"Peyton! Peyton! You were just…you were protecting your club." Julian said, trying to comfort her.

"Why did I hit him? Why did I have to hit him with the rock?" Peyton turned to Haley. "I should've let him have you. I should've."

"You don't mean that. Don't say it." Haley said.

"No. I don't. I'm…I'm scared."

"Yea, so am I. We didn't have a choice, right. It was self-defense. He was gonna hurt us, Peyton. " Haley said.

"Oh so I have an idea. We just tell Damien and his dangerous friends 'Mr. Gangster you can't hurt us because we did it out of self-defense!'"

Julian, Lucas and Haley groaned. "Come on, Peyton! This isn't funny, alright." Lucas said.

"I'm not laughing." Peyton argued. "Haley and I are sitting ducks."

"That's why we gotta do something about this." Lucas said.

"What? What are we gonna do?" Julian asked.

"I have a plan, ok." Lucas said, leading them over to a table. "Alright, everyone's gotta calm down. Here's what's gonna happen." Lucas looked at Julian. "You have to make sure that Haley and Peyton are never left alone, alright. Ever."

"Done." Julian replied.

"How?" Haley asked.

"We gotta camp out at my house for a little while. It's got the best access to the main road out of town in case we need to get away quickly."

"So Haley and I will never have to go home alone." Peyton said.

"Exactly." Lucas answered.

"Ok. Thank you. That's good." Peyton said.

"We're all gonna have to lay low for a few days. Let this all blow over, ok." Lucas said, pulling Haley into a hug.

"In the mean time we all keep quiet, alright." Julian added.

"No one knows and no one finds out." Peyton said, eyeing Haley.

"I think if we watch each other's backs we'll be ok." Haley said.

"It's the only way we can stay safe." Lucas said.

* * *

Peyton was back behind the bar getting some stuff together. Julian and Haley still sat at the table as Lucas walked around the club to make sure there was no trouble.

"I'm gonna take you home a little later and get some clothes for the next few days, ok." Julian offered. Haley nodded and smiled.

Lucas walked up to them, hearing the offer. "It's ok, Baker. I'll take care of it. Don't worry."

"Guys get over here!" Peyton yelled to them.

Julian, Haley and Lucas all went to the bar. "What's going on?" Lucas asked.

"Come here!" Peyton had the radio next to her. "Turn it up."

_The discovery of a body washed up on the Tree Hill beach just a short time ago. The dead man has been identified as Damien Scott, a Tree Hill resident. _

Haley gasped. "Oh my God."

_The cause of death has not yet been determined, but foul play is suspected. Mr. Scott was recently arrested on drug charges. WSPR will keep you informed. I'm-_

Lucas turned off the radio. And the group stood there, stunned.

"Oh my God." Haley finally spoke. "We killed him, Peyton. We killed him!" Haley cried.


	3. Chapter 2

That night they slept at Lucas's house. Peyton and Haley tossed and turned all night. Neither could keep from thinking about what had happened and the consequences that may come later. At 4:30 Haley finally got up after not being able to sleep and went into the living room to watch TV. Around 5, Peyton joined her. They both sat together watching reruns of _The Golden Girls_. Normally they would have been laughing, but not this morning.

When Lucas and Julian had finally gotten up, the group decided to go lunch and to the movies. They tried to try to get their minds off of the situation. It didn't help. Eventually Peyton and Lucas had to go back to Tric to work. Haley and Julian tagged along because they didn't want to sit in Lucas' house all night.

When Peyton got to work she was even worse than the day before. Only now she was lashing out at people, especially her staff.

"That is the third drink you've poured that you've screwed up!" Peyton yelled at the bar tender, Mark. "Why don't I just let you go home, huh? I'll take over! I'll just be the waitress, get the sodas, get the drinks-"

"Hey, hey, hey. Why don't you just cool down!" Lucas said, walking up to Peyton, hearing the yelling.

"He's not doing anything right!"

"Can I talk to you, please? Come here." Lucas said, grabbing her arm and leading away from the bar. He turned to Mark. "I'm sorry, Mark. She's tired and hasn't gotten a lot of sleep."

They walked farther away and Peyton yanked her arm out of his grasp. "A lot of sleep? I haven't gotten _any_ sleep."

"I know you didn't get any sleep, but you have to control yourself, ok. Cause people are gonna start asking questions." Lucas said, trying to calm her down. He turned back towards the bar and started talking to Mark.

Just then Haley walked towards Peyton with her coat and her purse. Peyton stepped in front of her. "Where do you think you're going?" she asked.

Haley rolled her eyes. "I'm going to the library."

"Excuse me? The library?"

"You know what, Peyton. I'm still in school and if I don't get some studying done, I'm gonna fail."

"That's crap! We just found out we killed somebody and you're going to study? I don't think so." Haley scoffed at what Peyton had just said.

"What's going on?" Lucas asked, turning back to the two girls.

"I think your girlfriend is going to the police." Peyton answered.

"I didn't say that." Haley countered.

"That's where you're going, isn't?"

Lucas eyed Haley. "Haley?"

"I don't know where I'm going. But I hate all of this deceit." Haley answered, walking away from them to sit down at a table.

Lucas and Peyton followed her. Julian then came over. "Oh alright, Haley. Let's go tell the cops! Gee officer, Damien was being really mean and we hit him again and again." Haley stood up and started to glare at Peyton. "And we didn't know what to do. So we just ran away." Peyton said, taunting her.

"Why don't you lay off of her." Julian said.

"No! I won't, ok." Peyton said, turning to face Julian. "Things don't end the way they do on TV. This is real life." She now turned to face Haley. "So even if we get off because of your name, we still have the drug dealers to deal with. And they will track us down."

"You don't know that for sure." Haley argued.

"I know we're dealing with some dangerous people! They said they are gonna find who did this and make them pay. Well that's us, Haley. You and me."

"She's right, Haley." Julian spoke up.

"Yea, I know I'm right. Now I don't really care if you're feeling guilty. I'm so sorry for you." Peyton said, staring Haley down.

"Thank God! There you are!" They heard. Just then Jake James, Haley's older brother, walked over to her. "I have been worried sick about you." He said.

The group didn't know what to say. They just stood there looking at each other. Finally Lucas spoke up. "Listen, that guy Damien you saw on the news, we all don't really know him that well."

"Yea no one even suspected he was into drugs." Julian chimed in.

"Well see that doesn't change the fact that somebody's been murdered." Jake said

"It's scary to think that someone's capable of doing that." Peyton said.

"Doing what?" Jake asked, turning to Peyton. "Doing drugs or killing somebody?"

"Jake, you're making it sound a lot worse than it really is." Haley argued.

"Haley, somebody has been killed. Someone that worked in this bar." Jake said shocked by how calm she seemed.

"I know. I just mean that the police are handling it. They're questioning everybody-"

"Right, right. There are a million police officers outside, Jake." Peyton said, interrupting Haley.

"You know, actually this place is probably safer than yours." Lucas said.

"See, you really don't have to worry about it. I'll be ok." Haley said.

"I did notice you didn't come home last night." Jake said.

Haley looked down. "No I didn't."

"So I guess you made up your mind that you're moving in with Lucas?"

"Actually-" Haley began.

"You know, actually Haley has decided to move in with me." Peyton said smiling and linking arms with Haley. "Everyone camped out at Lucas's house last night and I guess she forgot to tell you." She said, fake smiling at Haley.

"I guess she did." Jake answered.

"Yea, I'm really sorry I didn't call. I just…everything's really crazy around here. But Lucas and I did talk about that and I think we decided that we're not gonna rush into anything." Haley said, eyeing Lucas.

"Yea, we're gonna wait for the time to be right." Lucas said, agreeing.

Jake sighed in relief. "Haley, I think that is a really good idea." He walked over to her and pulled her into a hug. "I just worry about you, you know. You're my little sister."

Haley began to cry in Jake's arms. "I can't stop thinking about what happened to Damien. It's so awful." She said, before she could stop herself. Lucas, Julian and Peyton all stared at her in shock. Jake pulled away and looked at her confused. Haley started walking towards the table. "It just creeps me out. I just keep seeing him lying there, dead."

"Haley, what are you…I didn't see anything like that in the news. What are you talking about?" Jake asked.

"Uh, they slipped it into one of the broadcasts. It's pretty tough to take." Julian spoke up.

"Especially after we all met the guy." Lucas added.

Haley stopped crying and turned back around to face Jake. She smiled. "I'm sorry I keep going on and on. I didn't mean to…it just really shook me up, you know."

"I wish you'd just come home with me." Jake said.

Haley put her hand on Lucas shoulder. "No I'm gonna stay here."

"Are you sure?" Jake asked. She nodded. "Alright, you know my cell number."

"By heart." She said, chuckling.

"Alright." He said, pulling her into a hug. "I worry about you. You're the only sister I have."

"I know."

"Ok be careful. I love you." He said, pulling away.

"I love you too."

"Bye Jake." Lucas said, as he walked away. As soon as Jake had walked out the door, Lucas put his hand on Haley's back. "Ladies, come with me." He led them to a secluded part of the club. "Now what's this about moving in together?"

Peyton stared at Haley. "I'm not letting her out of my sight. You almost blew it again, Haley." She turned to Lucas and Julian. "I don't trust her."

"Alright, alright. Look what I think we need to do here is stick together." Julian offered.

"Please, someone tell her that!" Peyton yelled.

"I'm not just talking about our stories. I'm talking about us. Look we'll split Lucas' house tonight, girls in one room, and guys in the other. At least until we can figure out another way to steer the drug dealers in another direction." Julian said.

As Julian was talking, Peyton was eyeing a mysterious man looking around the club. He had short black hair, wore jeans and white t-shirt and a leather jacket. Lucas turned to see what Peyton was staring at. "What? You know that guy?" He asked.

"No." Peyton said, moving to get a better look.

"Looks like a cop." Lucas said.

The man noticed them staring and walked over. "I'm looking for the owner."

"I'm the owner. We already gave our statement." Peyton said.

The man smirked. "I'm not the police. I'm Nathan Scott, Damien Scott's brother. I'm tracking down my brother's killer."

"Why do you think he'd be here?" Peyton asked, chuckling nervously.

"Yea, you know your brother didn't work here all that long." Lucas said, eyeing the man.

"Well this is the last place he was seen alive, so this is where I'm gonna start. Unless somebody's got a problem with it."

"No! No, no problem." Peyton said quickly.

"You're sure?"

"Yea of course she is." Julian said.

"Cause I was hoping I could count on all of you to help me out."

"Absolutely." Peyton said.

"That goes without saying." Lucas added.

"You know, what happened to Damien was pretty terrible." Haley spoke up.

"Yea I think dead is pretty terrible too."

"If you need anything, just let us know." Peyton said.

"We'd like nothing better than finding out who did this." Julian said.

"That goes without saying." Lucas said, again.

"Good. Good I like the sound of that. So you'll keep your eyes and your ears open? I'll be back." He said, and walked away.

"Now do you see why we can't go to the police?" Peyton said, looking at Haley.

* * *

Haley sat at a table in Tric with her books for school. She was staring blankly at something across the room. All she could think about was Damien and his brother. This was getting bad. Now on top of everything else, his brother showed up the previous night to find out who killed him.

As she sat, Haley flashbacked to the night of Damien's death. She could see it so vividly. The way Damien's eyes went blank as he went down. How he didn't get up. How she and Peyton just left him there.

Haley gasped when she felt a hand on her shoulder. It was Lucas. "Don't do that."

"It's just me." He assured her, sitting down next to her.

"I don't care. Just don't."

"Everything ok? Sorry I just wanted to see how everything was going." he said.

"Yea well it's going," she said, looking back down at her homework.

"Listen, Haley. I know we talked about this many times, but you know how important it is that we keep everything-"

"I'm not even thinking about it, Lucas."

"Good."

Haley looked back up at him. "What I am thinking about is my dream to be a doctor. To save lives."

"Good. You know that dream is going to happen, Haley."

"How? I took a life, Lucas."

"Shhh. Haley, keep your voice down."

"I killed a man and that changes everything."

"It doesn't, ok. It was self defense." He argued.

"It doesn't matter. Things will never be the same. Not ever."

* * *

Peyton was behind the bar making sure they had enough supplies for the rest of the night. She was about to walk away when Mark, the bartender, turned to her.

"Can I talk to you a minute, Peyton?" he asked. She nodded. "I know this is short notice, but uh, I'm quitting."

"What? This is a joke, right?"

"No joke."

"I just hired you, Mark! What happened?"

"I just got other stuff going on." He said, looking behind Peyton.

"Well why didn't you tell me that before you asked for a job?"

"I gotta go." He said and walked away.

"Now?" Peyton said, stunned. When she turned back around, Nathan was standing in front of the bar.

"Problem?" he asked.

"Nathan!"

"What's going on?"

"Nothing. My bartender just quit."

"Oh yea?"

"Yea, he just walked out the door."

"Oh wow. That's a tough break. It's gonna be tough to sell drinks without a bartender."

"I'm gonna have to call an agency." Peyton said, reaching for the phone.

"Why?"

"Because I need to sell drinks. I need to hear that register opening and closing."

"You need a bartender? You got one."

"Who you?"

Nathan didn't answer. He just took off his leather jacket and started walking behind the bar. "I can make a Martini that James Bond would die for. Shaken, not stirred. I can also whip up a Black Russian, Pink Lady, Yellow Bird. I don't just do colors, though. I can do places. Manhattan, Singapore Sling-"

"Nathan, it's really nice of you to offer. But I-"

Nathan leaned forward, getting closer to Peyton. "You can't turn me down, Peyton. You're in a bind. So am I, in a way. You need a bartender and I need a way to hang out here. Keep an eye on things. Find the person who killed my brother without having to give myself away. So what do you say? Do I got myself a job…boss?" he asked, eyeing her down.

"Ok, Nathan. You can bartend for a little while." Peyton said, too scared to say no.

"Ok, cool."

Peyton walked away from the bar and Nathan followed. "But, as far as you finding your brother's killer, I don't think that's gonna happen."

"Well this is the last place he was seen alive."

"Yea, but he worked here. He was part of the Tric family. Everybody's so nice here." Peyton said, smiling.

Nathan smirked at her. "You'd be amazed at what nice people can do when push comes to shove. There's no such thing as nice."

Peyton had to get his mind off of Damien. "Well, people are getting thirsty." She smiled. "So if you're serious about helping out…"

"Hey, is this the face of a serious guy?" he said pointing to himself. "I think it is."

"Ok, well...do your thing." She said, walking away from the bar.


	4. Chapter 3

Nathan and Peyton were restocking the alcohol and putting the glasses back in the cabinets. Peyton was also showing him where everything is behind the bar. "So we have wine on the left and under here is some lemons."

"You gotta knife?" Nathan asked, looking around.

"No, but I'll get you one." She said.

She was about to walk away when Nathan grabbed her arm. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. You're the boss. I'm the one who does the getting. And as far as you having to tell me where everything is, it'll take me two minutes."

"I just want to make sure you know-"

"Know everything back here. I know."

"You sure?"

"One of my uncles owns a restaurant. I used to spend every summer working there. Tending bar, busing tables, working in the kitchen. It paid for a big chunk of my college tuition."

"You worked for your uncle, huh?"

"Yea we all did. My brother and my cousins, aunts…"

"Your family sounds close."

"Yea, we are pretty tight. My father died when I was a kid so I had to become the man of the house."

"The man? Where was Damien?" Peyton asked, trying to get as much info out of Nathan as possible.

"He's older, but it's just the way things worked out."

"I'm sorry for your loss."

"Well we all have to lose someone we love sooner or later."

"Yea we all do." Peyton said, looking down. Nathan noticed this.

"Did I touch a nerve?"

"No, no. Not at all." Peyton chuckled. "I'm just thinking about you having to lose your brother and your dad. It must be hard."

"With Damien it was always a matter of time. He lived life on the edge. Sometimes he lived way over it."

"Way over it?"

Nathan turned to face Peyton. "Look, Damien had a few rough edges, but he was a decent guy. And he was family. Where I come from that means something. When someone messes with your family you do something about it."

"Well what do you do?" Peyton asked nervously.

"Nothing. It's just an expression."

* * *

Haley and Lucas still sat at the table talking. Haley really just wanted to get back to studying. "Look, Haley, I know how hard this must be on you."

"Do you? How? You ever killed anybody before?"

"Keep your voice down, ok."

"No! Not ok! Nothing is going to be ok."

"You're gonna make it through this, Haley."

"I think 'get away with this' are the words you're looking for."

"No."

"No? You can tell me you don't want me to just pretend that nothing happened? Forget that I bashed a man's head in?" She said as she got up.

"Come on, Haley." Haley sighed as Lucas stood up too. "Look, I really wish I was there for you. I wish I was there so I could've protected you."

"Why? What for? So you could be the one to kill him and not me?"

Lucas put his hands on Haley's arms. "You're not really making much sense, Haley."

"I'm not trying to make sense, Lucas. There's no sense to be made out of any of this."

"So what do you wanna do? You wanna go confess everything and do the right thing? Is that what you wanna do?"

"If I knew what the right thing was."

"But you don't because Damien was a bad guy. And he hurt and destroyed a lot of lives. And if you and Peyton didn't do what you did, he would've kept on doing it."

"I took a life, a young life. Why are you just trying to just excuse this?" Haley asked, getting upset.

"Haley I'm not trying to. Our problem right now is not that, it's Damien's brother. He is not going to take any excuses because he wants revenge. He finds out anything that happened, he's gonna come after all four of us. He might kill all four of us."

"You don't know that."

"I do." Peyton said, coming up behind Lucas. "Lucas is right. We have a new bartender, Haley. Nathan Scott."

"What?" Haley asked, shocked. "He works here? What is wrong with you?"

"What happened to Mark?" Lucas asked.

"Oh, he just quit. At the same exact time, Nathan comes in and offers to take his place."

"What are you trying to say?" Lucas asked, confused.

"I'm saying Nathan did something to him. He ran out after he saw Nathan walk in. I know it. He did something."

"I think I'm gonna have a little chat with our new friend Nathan Scott." Lucas said, heading to the bar. Peyton grabbed his arm.

"And say what? You're fired? Why don't you just put a gun to your head, Lucas."

"What you think he can stay here?"

"He can and he will."

"Are you crazy?"

"He's right, Peyton." Haley said.

"I'm not nuts, ok."

"So what if he finds out?" Lucas asked.

"How about this? Maybe he already suspects. Did you think of that?" Haley said, getting angry.

"All we have to do is not act like scared little rabbits every time the guy looks at us, alright. If you can do that, Haley then maybe he won't suspect anything."

"So that's the deal? What's the plan?" Lucas asked.

Peyton looked at both of them. "I'm gonna make him fall in love with me."

* * *

Peyton walked into Tric with a very different outfit on than she usually wore. It was a low cut top, mini skirt and knee high boots. She walked through the crowds to the table where Julian, Haley and Lucas sat. When they looked up they all were shocked. "How do I look?" she asked.

Haley and Julian's mouths were open. Too stunned to say anything. "Like somebody who's trying to get herself killed." Lucas finally said.

"Lucas, I can handle myself."

"You don't have to do this, Peyton." Haley said.

Julian grabbed Peyton's arm to make her face him. "If Damien's brother finds out that you're trying to keep him off the trail of murder, we're all dead."

Peyton yanked her arm away from him. "He will be head over heels in love with me in a matter of days."

"Right." Haley smirked.

"What if you little plan backfires?" Lucas asked.

"It won't. Not everybody is as blind to my charms as you, Lucas."

"Ha-ha." Lucas said, sarcastically. "Look this isn't a joke, Peyton."

"The guy is obviously dangerous. Haley told me he scared the hell out of the last bartender you had." Julian said.

Haley turned to Peyton. "Don't mess with Nathan, Peyton. I'm telling you, I know you and you're gonna slip something up."

"You mean the way you almost did with Alex Dupre? That's what you're talking about?"

"You called Alex?" Julian asked. Alex Dupre was the police chief, Michael Dupre's, daughter.

"Yea she did. And I stopped her before she could say anything." She turned to Haley. "Now I am not gonna fall apart, ok. Not like you. Nathan will fall for me and he'll never know we killed his brother."

Peyton didn't say anything else. She walked away from the table and over to the bar where Nathan was. She leaned over the bar and grabbed a bottle of tequila. Nathan noticed her and walked over. When she saw him walking over, she smiled.

Nathan leaned forward on the bar top. "What's up?"

"I was thinking about you." Peyton flirted. "I made a list of everyone that was here the night that your brother died." She held out a piece of paper.

Nathan grabbed the list from her and read over it. "Does anybody stand out?"

"It was a busy night. So I don't really remember anyone's names. I was more concerned with the numbers than with the people." She smiled.

"Do I make you nervous?" Nathan asked, seeing right through her.

"Nervous?"

"Yea."

"No." she chuckled. "Why? Why would you make me nervous?"

"Well I'm not exactly here on a mission of mercy."

Peyton smiled and grabbed his hand. She held it between hers. "I understand. I do the same exact thing. As a matter of fact we are a lot alike."

"Oh yea? How's that?" Nathan pulled his hand out of her grasp.

"Well if you don't know then I'll show you. I lost someone in my life too, someone in my family. I know how it feels. My father, he died suddenly."

"Tough break."

"Yea he was such a great guy. He was so nice to people and did everything for them. And we had such a great relationship."

"I thought he worked in the record industry? And from what I heard, he cut you off a few months before he died."

"What?" Peyton was a little taken back by his statement.

"Yea, I was a little curious how someone like _you_ could own some place like this. So I did a little checking up."

Peyton smiled. "I guess I should be flattered."

"Don't be. You're a very attractive girl, Peyton."

"Oh I promise you, Nathan. I am no girl." Peyton said, touching his cheek.

Nathan pushed her hand away. "But I don't have time for distractions. Especially from someone like you."

"I'm a good distraction, Nathan. I can help you."

"No thanks." He said.

Peyton was getting nervous. This was not working. "Oh come on. I know you don't look for your brother's killer all the time. What do you do for fun?"

Nathan leaned closer to Peyton. "I have one reason, and one reason only for being here. I'm gonna find who killed Damien. And trust me, you don't want to be the one diverting me from that purpose."

He walked away and Peyton stood defeated. She had no idea why he didn't fall for what she was putting out. Guys loved it. Well most guys, not Lucas or Nathan. She walked away from the bar without looking at Lucas or Haley.

Lucas and Haley had watched the whole interaction between Peyton and Nathan. "I'm gonna go see what happened with Peyton, alright. I'll be right back. Don't go anywhere." Lucas told Haley. He got up and followed Peyton.

Julian had left a few minutes before, so Haley sat at the table with her school stuff. She was just about to get back to it when she saw someone sit down next to her.

"You wanna help me out, Haley?" Nathan asked.

"Um, ok?"

"Tell me the truth."

She turned to look at him. "The truth about what?"

"What a nice, beautiful girl like you is doing studying in a place like this. And why you hanging out with this crowd?"

"I like them. Why wouldn't I?"

Nathan smirked. "Come on, you're not like these people. Look at who owns this place. I mean you know as well as I do that you can't trust Peyton Sawyer."

"What?"

"Well I can see right through her. If I were you, I wouldn't let my boyfriend work for her."

"Yea, well…" she said, trying him to get the hint that she didn't want to talk. She went back to studying as best she could with Nathan Scott sitting next to her.

Nathan looked at her and then at her book. He smiled. "Oh this is Bio 2. Professor Carr."

"How did you know that?" she asked.

"Relax. I'm not checking up on you. I had him too."

"You?"

"Yea, I went to Tree Hill University. Don't be so surprised. Damien and I kinda went our different ways."

"Yea I guess so." She said, trying concentrate on her books.

"You probably thought of him as a punk. Or some sort of petty thug, huh? It's alright, most people did. But he was my big brother. You know, he helped pay my way through college. Even though he knew college wasn't for him, he wanted to make sure I did ok."

Haley looked up. "Well I didn't know."

"No. Damien never wanted anyone to know he was anything other than a tough guy. But I loved him. That's why I gotta find out who killed him."

Haley sighed. He was obviously not going to stop talking to her about this. "Why are you telling me this?"

"Cause I don't want you to cringe every time I look at you. I'm not here to make life difficult for people like you. You don't need to be afraid. In fact I think maybe you can help me."

Haley was done. She didn't want to sit here anymore and talk about this. She started grabbing her books. "Ok, you know what? I'm really sorry about your brother. I really am. But I would really like to be left alone."

She didn't give him a chance to respond. She got up and walked away. Nathan watched her. This was going to take longer than he thought. He just wanted to find the killer and be gone. He didn't want to have to deal with this group of friends who were making finding his brother's killer much more difficult than it needed to be.


	5. Chapter 4

**Back with another update :) Thanks for the reviews on this story. I'm glad you're enjoying it. **

* * *

Haley and Peyton sat in a booth at the diner together having lunch. Nathan walked in, glanced at them and sat down at the counter.

Peyton gasped. "Oh my God!"

"What?" Haley asked turning around to see what Peyton was looking at. Nathan was staring back at them, with an angry look on his face.

"I knew it, Haley. He's following us. He knows. He knows that we-"

"Stop, it was self defense." Haley argued.

"Yea, well tell that to Nathan. And tell that to the people who are gonna fit us for cement shoes."

"Ok you know what? You know what we're gonna do? We're gonna do what we should've done in the very beginning. We're gonna go over to Michael Dupre and we're gonna tell him the entire story." Haley said, getting up.

Peyton grabbed her arm. "Haley, you sit down or I swear I will break your arm."

Haley yanked her arm away from Peyton. Then Peyton stood up to face her. Haley pointed to a spot farther away from everyone and Peyton followed her.

"It's time to stop running, Peyton."

"No, it's time to be smart. Now I already tried to take the heat off by putting moves on Nathan."

"A lot of good that did."

"Right. Which leads us to you. I've seen the way he looks at you, Haley. And we need to take advantage of that."

Haley laughed. "Well isn't this just so _you_. Another clever manipulation to worm your way into Lucas' life by getting me over to Nathan."

"This is not a way to steal your guy, ok. This is a way to keep your sweetie boy alive."

"Right." Haley said, not believing a word she was saying.

"Think about it. You really think people are gonna believe two girls killed Damien? Or Julian? Mr. Sweet and clean mathlete? He's not gonna make the list either. It's gonna be Lucas Roe, Haley. The guy known for trouble, the guy known to fight until the end. He's gonna be the one they see most likely to murder. So if you want to end your relationship with Lucas permanently, then go tell the cops. Go tell Michael. Go ahead, Haley. Be my guest."

Haley sighed, knowing Peyton was right. She looked over to Nathan who was still looking at them. When she started to walk toward him, he turned around and started drinking his coffee.

Haley walked to him, his back turned to her. "Hi. Um, I wanted to say that I really am sorry about what happened to Damien."

Nathan kept looking ahead. "Yea, well you can save it. I know you couldn't care less."

"Why would you say that?"

Nathan turned around to face her. "You know why."

"Why do you say that like my friends and I are in trouble? What exactly do you think we did?"

"It's what you didn't do, Haley."

"We didn't do?" she asked, confused.

"Yea. You know, what I find really hard to believe is that the people who worked with my brother were just too damn busy to take an hour out of their day to go to his funeral."

Haley closed her eyes, feeling really guilty. "Oh."

"Yea, oh. It's pretty cold, Haley. That's alright, you weren't the only ones. The loan sharks and dealers weren't there either. Which is probably a good thing as far as their existence is concerned. But you guys, I mean you worked with him, I thought that you were friends with him. I don't get it."

"I…nobody told me when the funeral was."

"So why didn't you ask?"

"Because I…I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Is there anything I can do to make this up to you?"

Nathan chuckled and stood up. "Yea, you know what you can do? Help me find who killed my brother."

Haley watched him walk away. She actually felt bad for missing the funeral. Peyton walked over to her and stood in front of her. "What happened?"

"We have some problems."

* * *

The next night was Haley and Peyton stood in Tric. It was closed for a Thanksgiving party. They were still arguing about the whole situation with Damien. And the fact that Nathan seemed to develop some type of feelings, whatever they were for Haley.

"What do we do about Nathan? That's the question, right? You know what, I got it. Since you're the one he's so desperately after, find-"

"No, no, no. You're not getting off on this one, Peyton. You're as much involved in this as I am." She noticed Nathan walk into Tric, signaling they had to stop talking.

"Nathan?" Peyton said.

"Hi."

"Hi. What are you doing here today?" Peyton asked, nervous.

"Don't I still work here?"

"Yes, but we're closed for a private Thanksgiving party. All the staff should've gotten a call."

"Ok, well no problem. I came by to get my pay check so I'm gonna get it and I'll take off." He said walking away.

Peyton started walking away. "Wait, wait, wait." Haley said. "Ok what if we are looking at this all wrong. I mean what if I do what he wants and we can know what he's planning, right?"

"And we can stay two steps ahead of him." Peyton agreed.

Nathan walked back into the room, having grabbed his pay check. "Do it now." Peyton said, pushing her toward him and then walking away.

Nathan was behind the bar looking for something. Haley hesitantly walked up. "Hi."

He didn't look up. "I thought we already did the 'Hi' thing."

"Right. Um, look I know this is gonna be a difficult holiday for you."

"I've had better."

"So why don't you stay here and have dinner?" Haley suggested.

Nathan looked up at her. "I thought this was a private party?"

"Well there is a private party, but it's mine, actually. And um, it's gonna be a bunch of friends and family. It's nothing fancy, but it'll be fun."

"Thanks. My family isn't really in the giving thanks kind of mode." He walked out from behind the bar. "They're still taking Damien's death pretty hard."

"Yea, sure."

Nathan stood in front of her. "So I think I will stick around."

"Good. Also, I've been thinking about what you asked me, about me helping you find your brother's killer. And I think I can help after all."

"Wow. Now there's a 180. Why the sudden change of heart? Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the help. Since you hang out here a lot you must have noticed something, people coming and going. Not just Damien, maybe other people. You must have noticed something unusual."

"Well see that's just it. The more I think about it, the more I'm remembering something that _was_ unusual."

"What?"

"Well someone, rather. It was this real hard looking character that hung around Damien the day that he uh…"

"Hard looking?"

"Yea, shady."

"Really? Well how old? Did you get a name?" Nathan asked, suspicious.

"I don't know."

"Do you think that this guy and Damien were friends?"

Haley walked away, her back turned to Nathan. "I don't know. Maybe, but they did fight a lot. I know that."

"Really? Wow that's really interesting, Haley." Nathan walked up right behind Haley. "Only thing is…I don't believe a word you're saying."

Nathan walked back to the bar and sat down on a stool. Haley turned and followed him. She stood in front of him. "Are you calling me a liar?

"Come on, Haley. You're trying to screw me over."

"What makes you say that?" she smiled, nervously.

"Look at your hands. They're shaking all over the place. You're nervous about something." Haley moved her hands behind her back. "Aren't you?"

Just as she was about to answer, Lily and Madison walked in. "Haley!" Madison said.

Haley turned and hugged them. "Hi Lily, Madison. How are you guys doing?"

"I'm so bummed." Lily said.

"You're bummed? Why?" Haley asked.

"Because I can't have dinner here. This is place is so cool."

"And there are so many more cool places to go. So let's go before I have to get you home for dinner." Madison's mom said. "Come on."

Haley hugged the girls one last time and smiled as they left. "Bye."

"They're cute kids." Nathan noticed.

"Yea."

"They really seem to like you."

"Why are you surprised? We're pretty tight around here."

"Yea I noticed. Which is why, Haley, I don't buy your big fable about my brother and Mr. Shady Character." He got up and stood in front of her. "But I do think you know more than you're telling me. So let's think back, let's think really hard. See if we can come up with some sort of incident or some little clue that I can go on."

"What is it? Do think that I have this magical crystal ball that I can look into and tell you what happened to Damien? I saw him with some guy, that's all I know, that's all I saw. I don't know how many times I have to tell you that."

"I want you to tell me the truth, Haley."

Haley was getting angrier every second they kept talking. "Ok, you want the truth so bad? You got it. I'm going to tell you exactly about your brother. The truth is, nobody could stand Damien. The truth is no one wanted to be in the same room as him, let alone work with him. Now I'm sorry that your brother is dead, but I'm not sorry that he's gone from our lives. And that is why nobody went to his funeral."

"Wow, I didn't realize you hated Damien that much. Tell me, Haley. Who else hated Damien?"

"Are you ever gonna stop? You know, you come in here muscling around, badgering us with questions, scaring us to death. You told me you don't want me to cringe every time you look at me. Why the hell shouldn't I? For God sakes, your brother was dealing drugs in here! What he did was wrong."

"Oh you don't think murdering him was wrong?"

"I…look we've all lost somebody that we love. My mom died when I was young. She was in a car accident."

"I'm sorry that's not the same thing."

"I'm just saying that I understand what you're going through. I get it, ok. But I'm sick of dealing with you. Just leave me alone!"

Lucas and Peyton walked in at that moment, hearing yelling. "Hey, hey, hey. Get the hell out of here, man." Lucas said, stopping directly in front of Nathan.

Nathan smirked. "I've been invited to stay for dinner, Lucas. It would be rude to leave."

"Really?" Lucas grabbed Nathan jacket collar. "Ok, how about I throw you out?" Nathan knocked his hands away. "What, you got a problem? Look, I will do whatever I have to do to keep you away from Haley."

Nathan eyed Lucas and smiled. "I believe you. Well it's been a very enlightening day." He started walking for the door and then turned to Haley. "I'll have to take a rain check on dinner." Haley shuddered.

As soon as the door closed Haley closed her eyes. "He knows, Lucas. He's onto us." Lucas simply walked over and pulled Haley into a hug.

"Are you alright?" Lucas asked, once Haley had pulled away.

"Of course she's alright."

"Thank you, Peyton. I can answer for myself."

"What were you doing alone with Nathan anyway?" Lucas asked.

"I was just talking. I kinda figured if we knew what he was thinking and doing we could keep tabs on him."

"Look I don't want you keeping tabs or anything else on him. I don't want you near that guy, alright."

"Yea, I just wish Damien would stay dead and buried."


	6. Chapter 5

Haley walked onto the beach. The same beach where Damien had been killed. Where _she_ had killed him. Haley sat down on a bench they had placed on the beach. She closed her eyes and thought back to that night. She saw Damien's death all over again. Lately, it was all she could think about. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw it.

Snapping her from her thoughts, she heard a voice. "Well look at this." Haley turned and saw Nathan standing there. "Returning to the scene of the crime?"

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

"It's funny. I was just about to ask you the same thing."

"I come here to think."

"What a coincidence. This is where my brother came to die."

"I said I was sorry."

"Yea, everyone's sorry." Nathan started pacing in front of Haley. "The cops said this is the exact spot where Damien died. Before the tide washed him away."

"Why are you telling me this?"

Nathan turned to face her. "I'm trying to jump start your memory, Haley. You know something. I can feel it."

"No I don't. Stop bothering me." She said, turning her back to him.

Nathan sat down beside her and Haley scooted over as far as she could. "Ok, maybe you could help me with something else. Something that's been keeping me up at night ever since Damien died." Nathan leaned in, getting even closer to Haley's face. "Do you think he suffered?"

Haley turned her head to look at him. "I have no idea."

"Come on, you're pre-med right?"

"So?"

"So you must have learned something about blunt traumas to the head in anatomy class. Did my brother die instantly or did he bleed to death?"

"Stop it!" Haley said, getting up. "Why are you doing this? I told you I don't know anything. Stop following me! Stop looking at me like you see right through me!"

"Maybe I can. See, I got a little theory about what happened the night Damien died. You wanna hear it?" Haley turned her back to him. He ignored her and continued. "When I found out Peyton turned him into the police for dealing, I got a little suspicious. I thought maybe the poor little rich girl had something to do with it."

"Peyton?"

"Mmhm. But after tonight…I think I've got a more likely suspect."

Haley turned to face him. "What are you talking about?"

Nathan smiled and walked over to Haley. "Before he died, Damien told me how he felt about you."

"Me?"

"He liked you. He told me you guys used to flirt with each other…a lot."

"There was nothing going on between me and your brother." She said, walking away from him.

"Maybe not, but it might've looked that way. And tonight I saw just protective of you Lucas is. He'd do anything to keep from losing you."

"What are you saying?" Haley asked turning to face him once again.

"You were there. He went nuts, Haley. And I didn't even do anything to you. Now I can only imagine how upset he got when he saw Damien coming onto you."

"No, he's not violent."

"No? Could've fooled me."

"Lucas would never, ever-"

"What? Kill someone in a jealous rage? I disagree, Haley. I think your boyfriend Lucas murdered my brother. And I am gonna make him pay."

"No. Lucas is not a killer. He would never do that."

"Even to protect you?"

"There was nothing to protect me from! Both of us barely knew Damien."

"You don't have to know someone to know he's hitting on your girlfriend."

"It wasn't like that."

"Then tell me what it was like!" Nathan screamed.

"It wasn't like anything! Lucas is not a killer!"

"Lucas wouldn't kill anyone? Under any circumstances?"

"No."

"No? Even if you were in trouble, Haley?"

"No! Stop!"

"You don't think Lucas loves you enough to kill for you?"

"No."

"No?"

"Well, yes." Haley said, honestly not knowing what to say.

"Yes?"

"I don't know!'

"Would he kill in self defense, Haley? Would he?"

"I am not talking to you about this anymore." She said, walking past him. But he grabbed her arm and yanked her back around to face him. He kept hands on both of her arms, forcing her to look at him. She started to cry.

"If Lucas really loved you, wouldn't he fight for you?" Nathan asked, while Haley thrashed around trying to break free from his grasp. "Especially if he knew that you were in trouble. Don't you think-wouldn't you want him to do anything that he could to keep from losing you? Haley?"

"No, Lucas is not a murderer! He didn't even know what Damien did to me!" Nathan suddenly let her go. Haley stumbled back, getting quiet.

"What did Damien do to you?" Haley stayed quiet and began looking anywhere but at Nathan. "Come on, Haley, what'd he do? Did he come onto you? Did he ask you out? What did he do to you?" He suddenly grabbed her again. "Haley, what did he do to you? Tell me what he did!"

"Get the hell away from her!" They both heard. Lucas appeared behind them.

"Lucas!" Haley pleaded. But it was too late. He was coming after Nathan. "Lucas, no!" Lucas shoved Nathan to the ground. "Lucas!"

Nathan just laughed, staying on the ground. Lucas suddenly grabbed him by the jacket collar and pulled him up. "What the hell do you think you're doing, man?"

"Lucas, no!" Haley pleaded.

"I ought to pound your face in!"

"Lucas, it's not what you thought." Haley said, trying to get Lucas to calm down. She knew if he didn't it would turn out badly.

Lucas ignored her. "What were you trying to do to her?" he asked, gritting his teeth. Nathan just smiled. "Answer me!"

"Lucas, no!" She was now grabbing Lucas' hands, trying to get him to let Nathan go.

"Did he follow you here, Haley?"

"No he didn't. I asked him to take a walk with me."

"Oh yea, he had his hands all over you." Then what she said registered. He shoved Nathan and turned to face her. "You what? You _invited_ him here?"

"I felt so bad about yelling at him earlier that I thought I owed him." She knew it was a lame excuse, but it was all she could come up with.

"You don't owe him anything, Haley." Lucas said, glaring at Nathan.

"Lucas, your girlfriend is much more polite than you." Nathan said, taunting him.

"I'm telling you right now. You go anywhere near her again-"

"Don't tell me. You'll kill me." Lucas and Nathan just stared at each other. "Come on, Roe. What are you gonna do to me?" He took a step towards them.

"I'm warning you, man."

"Lucas take me home. It's cold." Haley said. She had to get them away from each other.

"Haley's off limits. You hear me?"

"Loud and clear."

"Good. Hopefully I won't have to tell you again."

"Hey, I was invited, remember." Nathan smirked.

"Yea, whatever."

"Come on, Lucas. Take me home." Haley pleaded one last time.

"Hey, Lucas, thanks for the warning." Nathan looked at Haley and smirked. "I've learned a lot tonight. It's been an education."

"Shut up." Lucas said, grabbing Haley's hand and leading her away. Haley turned back to look at Nathan one last time, before she and Lucas walked off the beach.

* * *

Lucas and Haley sat in the diner for lunch. Last night had been awful. Lucas was still angry most of the night. He was still angry that Haley would be alone with Nathan and the fact that she didn't tell him.

Right now they were talking about last night. Lucas had finally calmed down enough to talk without yelling and getting upset. Now he wanted to know what really happened with Nathan.

"So you did notice that I backed off from asking what happened last night?" Lucas said.

"No I haven't. What are you talking about?"

"Come on, Haley. I just didn't want to push you to tell me what happened until you were ready."

"Telling you what? I'm not sure what you're getting at."

"Haley, tell me the truth. That's all I'm getting at."

"I already told you the truth."

Lucas scoffed. "Look, I know what you told me, alright. But I didn't buy it. You and Nathan just went to the beach, for what? A casual stroll?"

"You know I'm getting really tired of talking about this."

"I know when you're holding back from me, Haley."

"I'm not."

"I know when you're getting scared too. I know you, remember. Look, I love you, but you have to tell me what really happened on the beach last night." He said, grabbing her hands.

"Ok, you're right. I'm sorry. I did lie to you. Because of that lie, you're in more danger than you can imagine."

"What are you talking about?"

Haley leaned in and lowered her voice. "Damien is dead because me and Peyton. Except Nathan believes that you did it."

"Me?"

"Yea. He thinks you were jealous of Damien or something."

"Oh my God." Lucas groaned.

"It's just because Damien was always staring at me, looking me up and down, waiting for a chance to hit on me. I'm sorry, Lucas. I'm so sorry."

Lucas put his head in his hands. "Haley I'm not mad at you, ok." He looked up at her. "But you can't keep things from me. Especially about all of this, about Damien. I mean, we've got Nathan Scott running around all over the place after us."

"I know. I'm sorry." Haley looked up and rolled her eyes. "Oh God." Lucas turned and saw Nathan walking by them. He stared at the couple as he walked to the counter. "Why does he keep following me?" Haley asked.

"I'll take care of it."

Haley put her hand on Lucas' arm. "No, you know what, the first person he's gonna come after is you."

"Not if I go after him first." Lucas said, getting up.

Haley grabbed his hand. "Wait, wait." She stood up and took both his hands in hers. "Lucas don't do this, please."

"Don't do what?"

"Just leave Nathan alone."

"All I want to do is talk to him, Haley."

"No, this is exactly what he wants."

"What are you talking about?"

"He's expecting it. He's waiting for you to go over there and go after him."

Lucas put his hands on Haley's face. "I can handle this, ok. Trust me."

"Lucas…" Haley started to argue, but he walked away from her.

Lucas headed to the counter and stood behind Nathan, whose back was turned. Lucas tapped him on the shoulder. Nathan slowly turned around to face Lucas. "Something I can do for you?" Nathan asked.

Lucas stuck out his hand. "Yea I was hoping you'd start off by shaking my hand." Nathan didn't move so Lucas dropped his hand back down. "Look, we got off on the wrong foot and I just thought we could start over. Hoping you could feel the same about it." Nathan just stared at him, not saying a word. "I'm serious about starting over."

"You're serious?" Nathan asked.

"Look, Nathan. You probably think I'm handing you a line, but what would I gain from that?"

"I don't know, you live." Nathan said nonchalantly.

"Haley told me you think I killed your brother, but that's why I'm here. To set things straight, because I had nothing to do with your brother dying, ok. I'm just saying I'm sorry it got off on a personal basis here."

"You're sorry." Nathan nodded, sarcastically.

"Look, if it was my brother I'd go after the killers with everything I had. So I kinda know how you feel."

Nathan stood up and set money on the counter. "You do?"

"Alright, I don't know how you feel. I just know you're probably hurt out of all this."

"So what do we do now, Lucas? We all become good friends?"

"Nathan, I'm apologizing. I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt, thinking maybe you're an alright guy. And if I'm wrong…sue me. We all make mistakes, right?"

Nathan smirked. "Right. You know, Lucas, I didn't figure you for being smart enough to pull this 'nice guy' routine with me. You know that Haley? A real class act."

"She's no act. She's a pretty amazing woman."

"Yea she is. So I guess you got something going for you."

"Listen, you got a problem and you come to me, ok. You deal with me when you got a problem. You got it?"

"Sure." He said and walked toward the door. Before he walked out, he turned and looked at Haley.

As soon as he was gone, Haley got up and grabbed Lucas' hand. "Can I just say, that before you held your hand out to him, my heart was beating a mile a minute."

"Yea well your heart wasn't the only one doing a number on you, Haley."

"But you were so calm and cool and…I'm actually starting to think this might work out." She said, smiling.

"Maybe."

Haley wrapped her arms around his neck. "Maybe. Well I'm very proud of you." Haley smiled and kissed him.

"Yea, well you better hold off on that because Nathan's kind of unpredictable."

Haley put her hands back down. "Yea."

"He's a hard case. Which is why I thought we'd kill him with our kindness. Maybe get off your track and Peyton's track. And the track of the truth."

"I'm getting scared again." Haley said.

"It's gonna be ok. You just have to tell me every time Nathan makes a move on you."

"I will."

"You let me deal with Nathan Scott."

"Ok." Haley smiled and then remembered. "I need a quarter for the parking meter. I'm sorry, I forgot."

"Alright." Lucas pulled a quarter out of his pocket. "Here you go. But it's gonna cost you."

Haley smiled, grabbed the quarter and slowly kissed Lucas. "Be right back." She said pulling away and walking out the door.

* * *

While Haley was walking back toward the door of the diner, a car horn honked. She turned and waved.

A hand on the back of her neck turned her around. Without realizing it, Nathan's lips were on hers. He placed a hand on her cheek deepening the kiss. Before Haley could respond, he pulled away and walked off, smirking.

Haley stood there stunned. She couldn't form words to say anything or to yell. She could barely comprehend what had just happened. This was bad, very bad.


	7. Chapter 6

Haley walked into Lucas' house, where the group had been staying for the past few weeks. She began packing her backpack for classes later. She couldn't believe what had happened today. Who the hell did he think he was? He had some nerve.

Peyton walking in the door interrupted her thoughts. Peyton noticed how upset Haley seemed. "Ok, I'll bite. You had a bad horoscope? You broke a nail? Oh I got it, you got less than an A on a test."

"Shut up, Peyton!"

"Oh, little miss charming had a bad day."

"I had a new Psychology class today, alright."

"So?"

"So it's with E.J. Williams." Peyton shrugged, not understanding the big deal. "She's only _the_ authority on cognitive behavior." Haley said, heading for the door.

"Free therapy, Haley. I think that's great. You definitely need therapy."

Haley stopped walking and turned around to face Peyton. "I haven't had this professor before and I hear she's really tough, ok."

"Oh, that's a life crisis. You should definitely lose like 5 minutes of sleep over that." Peyton answered sarcastically.

"Nathan told me he thinks Lucas killed Damien."

"Lucas? He told you that?" Peyton asked.

Haley dropped her backpack on the floor. "Flat out. I knew Lucas would flip if he knew so I didn't tell him. Of course he figured out something was up."

"So you told him?"

"Yea, I told him. And he acted completely the opposite of what I expected him to do. I mean, instead of going ballistic, he decided to try this new approach with Nathan."

"New approach? What?"

Haley walked past Peyton to sit on the couch. "He told him he was sorry they got off on the wrong foot and he wanted to start over."

"Well did Nathan see right through it?"

"I don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know? You know."

"I don't know, Peyton."

"Well what happened?"

"Nothing, he left the diner." Haley said, getting up and putting on her jacket. "And then he came back."

"Don't tell me they got into it."

"Oh no, Lucas didn't even see him."

"So what happened?"

"Nathan and I sort of had a thing."

"A thing?"

"He kissed me." Peyton's mouth hung open. "I know! It came out of nowhere. He walked up, kissed me on the mouth and then disappeared."

"Ok, that's good. This is what we wanted. I mean he's been eyeing you, he made his move."

"No, no. But to kiss me like that? If he really liked me, he would not do that."

"So what do you think he's up to something?" Peyton asked.

"I'm not sure. I mean Nathan's a smart guy. Maybe he just figured that if Lucas killed Damien because he was coming onto me he could just get history to repeat itself or something. I don't know. But we know how Lucas feels about Nathan."

"Yea he would go after him in a second if he knew about this."

"Which is exactly what Nathan wants. I mean he's just be waiting for Lucas."

"We cannot let this happen, Haley."

"Alright maybe it would be a good idea if you let me handle Nathan for a few days. You keep Lucas busy here and at Tric. Just keep him out of harms way."

"That sounds like a plan."

Haley picked up her backpack and headed for the door. "So just tell Lucas that I got a ride to campus with Julian and I'll talk to him later, ok."

"You're pretty good at avoiding him." Peyton pointed out.

"I'll see you later." Haley said, ignoring her comment. As soon as Haley closed the door, Peyton smiled.

"Don't worry, Haley. I'll take care of Lucas."

* * *

Haley paced the living room of Lucas' house. This day was just as bad as earlier in the week, maybe worse. Haley picked up one of her textbooks sitting on the table. She threw it at the door and screamed.

Peyton walked in with a package in her hand. "Whoa!" She bent down and picked up the book. "Don't tell me. What is it? Physics or is it chemistry? I don't know, I can never tell them apart."

Peyton handed the book back to Haley. "Not even close."

"Well that's the story of my life. And the story of yours is getting strange.

Haley sat down at the table. "It's not grades. Nathan Scott showed up in my psychology class."

"What do you mean?"

"He showed up. He was there. He says he's auditing the class."

"I thought he graduated from college."

"Yea, well he said he's auditing. He was right there in that damn room with me. Oh, and get this. He signs up to be study partners."

"You and Nathan?" Peyton asked, sitting down across from Haley at the table.

"Who else am I talking about, Peyton? Oh of course, he doesn't want to study. He just wants to sit there and torture me."

"Why? What did he do?"

"We were supposed to be reading these inkblots in class. And he kept looking at them and telling me they both looked like two people having sex…him and me." She said, getting up and sitting on the sofa.

Peyton laughed. "That's great! That's-wait, how did you handle that?" she followed Haley.

"I told him what I thought I saw in the ink blots…him getting hauled off to jail for sexually harassing me."

"You go, girl! That's good. This is great, because Nathan has a big thing for you. And it's going exactly how we planned."

"No it's not going exactly as we planned. There's not a damn thing that's good about this, Peyton. And I'll tell you something else, I'm not gonna play his game. I'm not gonna encourage him. I can't."

"Don't you get it, Haley? We already went over this. As long as he's all over you, he won't suspect that we killed his brother. And what about Lucas? You know, your boyfriend Lucas who is number one on his suspect list. Now I'm not asking you to enjoy this, ok." Haley just shook her head. "Whatever. There's something that came in the mail for you." She said, getting up, grabbing the package off the table and handing it to Haley.

"Me?" she asked, standing up and opening it. She saw a rolled up canvas. Julian and Lucas walked in and she got excited. It was probably a new map of the country her dad was in. He always sent them to her whenever he moved to a different country.

"Hello." Lucas said as he and Julian walked into the house.

"Look what came, babe."

"What came?" Lucas asked.

Haley unrolled the canvas and saw an inkblot. "A new map from my dad?" She said, frowning. Great, now he was sending her mail.

"What are you talking about?" Lucas asked, grabbing the inkblot from her. He saw a note_. "I see a truce. I'm sorry. _It has a number, no signature though. Why is someone sending you an apology letter? And what is all this stuff?"

"It's just…work for school. You know, for my psychology class."

"This kinda looks like a…"Lucas said, staring at the inkblot.

"They're inkblots."

"What someone sees in the shape can give a psychiatrist some sort of insight about what's going on inside the person's head." Julian explained.

"So anyway, my partner and I were having some trouble getting together with conflicting schedules and…"

"This stuff is pretty interesting. Can anyone sit in a class and just kinda audit it?" Lucas asked.

"Anyone can- "Julian began.

"No, no. You really have to be enrolled in the class." Haley interrupted, eyeing Julian. "We just have a really strict professor."

"Well I'm gonna get out of here. I told my mom I'd check up on her. So I'll see ya." Julian said.

"Bye Julian." Peyton said.

"See you later." Lucas said, as Julian walked out the door.

Haley had to get out of here. She had to get Lucas to stop thinking about the psychology class. "So I really should get going and figure out this whole thing with my partner. So, bye." She said, kissing him.

"Bye." Lucas said as Haley headed for the door. "Oh, Haley. You forgot these." He handed her the inkblots.

"Thank you." She said, shutting the door. Out on the porch Haley pulled out her cell phone and dialed the number Nathan had left on the note.

"_Yea?_" His voice answered.

"Nathan."

"_Is this my favorite psych partner?_"

"We need to talk."

"_So you got my package._"

"Oh yea, I got it. Uh-huh. Listen, we need to meet…right now."

"_Well that sounds good to me_." He smirked. "_I think I know just the place_."

* * *

Haley walked into the mall. The whole place was decorated for Christmas, which was about 2 weeks away. She started looking everywhere for Nathan. She knew this was a bad idea, but she needed to meet with him.

She felt a hand on her arm, and she gasped. "Ho, ho, ho." Nathan said.

Haley turned to face him. "I really wish you'd stop scaring me like that."

"Oh come on, Haley. How can you be scared here? This has got to be the safest place in the city. We got thousands of people walking around, tons of kids waiting to see Santa. It's a regular carnival here."

"What do you want?"

"Well I thought we could kill two birds with one stone. You know, do a little shopping while we talk."

"I mean this." Haley said, holding the inkblots up. "I didn't appreciate what you did and I don't appreciate what you're doing now."

"What am I doing?"

"Stop following me. Stop taking the same classes I'm taking. Don't call, don't send me things and stop trying to intimidate me." She started to walk away, but he grabbed her arm.

"Hey, where are you going?"

"Please, let go of me." She said forcefully.

"Haley, didn't my card say I'm sorry? Look, I'm sorry that I crossed a line and offended you in class, ok." He said, letting her arm go. "Come on, you gotta know the difference between and apology and a threat."

"Yea well, things are never the way they seem with you."

"Ok, what if I told you I think my brother's death was an accident? That there's nothing I can do about it and I'm letting it go. And now there's only us." Haley shook her head and turned her back to him. "Why are you so upset, Haley?"

Haley turned around, with an angry look on her face. "Because you'll never be over your brother's death. And as for us…there is no _us_. I love Lucas. I'm with him. And there is nothing that you can do to change that. Whatever it is you're trying to pull, just forget it."

"What do you think I'm pulling?"

"Pretending to be attracted to me, pretending to let go of your brother's death, whatever." She handed him the inkblot. "It's all just a game anyway isn't it, Nathan?" She shook her head and walked away.

Nathan's cell phone rang. "Yea?...no, not yet…I know. I know it's taking a long time. But I think I'm making some progress…believe me, I want to find my brother's killer just as much as you do…yea, I will." He hung up and walked away.

* * *

As Haley walked back through the mall to the exit, she saw Lucas and Peyton in the kids' section with Madison. They were standing close, talking and smiling. They looked really happy. They looked like a happy couple. It made Haley sick to her stomach.

But her stomach dropped when she saw Lucas wrap his arm around Peyton's shoulder and kiss the side of her head. Haley felt like someone had just kicked her. Who the hell did Peyton think she was? Didn't they just have a conversation the night of Mick's death about her fascination with Lucas and how it was going to stop? Well she sure as hell was gonna make sure it stopped this time.

* * *

As Peyton walked out of the diner where she and Lucas were having dinner, Haley walked up. "Well, did Santa finally give you what you wanted? I saw the way you had your arms wrapped all around Lucas at the mall. Boa constrictors have nothing on you."

"Oh excuse me, Miss Paranoid. Lucas and I took Madison to see Santa Clause. And by the way, _he_ kissed me."

"Oh you must have hated that." Haley said, sarcastically.

"You know, I am tired of you coming at me because you are so damn insecure about Lucas."

"No. I completely trust him. It's _you_ that I have a problem with."

"Well, Haley, the problem is in your head."

"What?"

"Yea I think you like this. I think you're getting off on all this attention. I mean you've got Lucas on one side, Nathan on the other."

"Are you crazy?"

"No I think I'm right. I mean we both know Nathan has the hots for you. And you know what? I think you are loving every minute of it."

Haley laughed. "You actually think I like Nathan's little mind games?"

"Either that or you are really good at faking it."

"Ok maybe you get off at thinking that every man on the planet has a thing for you. Fortunately for me I don't need that kind of ego massage."

"Not with Nathan and Lucas massaging it for you, you don't." Peyton taunted.

"I don't like Nathan Scott. The guy gives me the creeps. But since I'm the one keeping a lid on the fact that we killed his brother, I'm the lucky one that gets to deal with him."

"Technically, Haley, _you_ are the one that killed Damien."

"Excuse me?"

"Yea when I hit him it just dazed him. But it was the second blow, it was the elbow you put into it. You're actually the one that killed Damien."

Haley laughed again. "Ok so now you're suggesting that I throw myself at Nathan's mercy to save your bony little ass?"

"Forget me. What about Lucas, Haley? Would you give it up to save Lucas?"

"What are you two talking about?" Lucas' voice asked from behind them. They didn't say anything. "Something's up with you two. What were you talking about?" He asked, walking to them.

"Girl stuff. Nothing you would be interested in." Peyton smiled.

"Yea consider yourself lucky." Haley added.

"Ok." Lucas looked at Peyton. "Do you mind if I steal her away? I don't want to interrupt your girl talk."

"No, it's fine." Peyton answered.

"Alright, bye Peyton." He said, grabbing Haley's hand and walked away.

"Bye." She answered back.


	8. Chapter 7

Haley walked into Tric with a bag for Lucas. He wasn't there so she decided to leave it behind the bar and let Kelly, one of the waitresses, know that it was there. As she turned around to head for the door, Nathan stood in front of her. "When exactly were you planning to stop doing that?" she asked.

"What am I doing?"

"You're always creeping up on me."

"Well haven't you heard? I'm the Tree Hill creeper."

"You're also not funny."

"Haley, you're not full of the holiday spirit. Come on! Tis the season." He taunted.

"Tis the time for me to get going. Excuse me." She said as she started to walk away. But Nathan stepped in front of her.

"I thought you just got here?"

"I did, but I just came by to drop something off for Lucas. But he's not here so…fa la la la la." She said, walking away.

Nathan grabbed her arm and turned her around. "Can't you just spare me a couple minutes?" He leaned closer to her. "I really need to talk to you."

"In the first place, I have some place to be that I'm late because I'm trying to be cordial to you and second of all we have nothing to talk about. I thought I made that perfectly clear the other day." She said. Then she walked away and out the door, not giving him a chance to respond.

Nathan sighed and then walked out the door behind her.

* * *

As Haley walked out of Lauren's house she jumped when she saw Nathan. "Hey." He said.

"You did it again."

"Well you can't accuse me of sneaking up on you."

"I can accuse you of following me, though."

"How else am I gonna give you your Christmas present?" he asked, holding the gift out to her. She didn't take it.

"Ever hear of the US mail? Besides, you have no right giving me gifts."

"No right? I should take it up with the ACLU."

"I don't care if you call the FBI."

"Will you stop complaining and just open this? It's not a big deal. Come on."

Haley grabbed the gift and sighed as she opened it. "This is a picture of me. Wait a minute. This is a picture of me when I was alone in the park. How did you…?"

"It's important that you don't forget me." He answered.

Haley didn't answer back. She nervously looked at him and walked away.

Nathan smirked. This was working out perfectly.

* * *

The next morning Haley sat at the kitchen table at Lucas' house. Everyone else was still asleep, so she decided to get some studying done. Haley was so engrossed in studying that she didn't hear Lucas sneak up behind her. Haley jumped when she felt his lips on her neck.

"Relax. It's just me." He said, chuckling. "What are you doing up?" Lucas sat down beside her.

"Well I didn't think anybody was awake."

"I didn't hear you get up."

"It's the only time I can get any studying done. I can't wait for the four of us to stop living together."

"I know. It's like living in a constant reminder that we're not safe." He said, grabbing her hand.

"Trust me, I don't need the reminder."

"You're still thinking about Nathan, aren't you?"

"You know what, let's not talk about him this morning, ok." She said, smiling.

"Ok, we'll pretend we're normal people."

"For once."

"You know this wasn't how it was supposed to be, Haley. We should have our own place, and our own privacy whenever we want."

"I can't even remember the last time we were alone together."

"We're kind of alone now." He said seductively. Haley leaned across the table and kissed Lucas. They didn't hear Peyton walk in.

"Oh please, I just woke up. The last thing I need to see is you two swapping morning breath." Peyton said loudly.

"Yea well live with it, roomie. We all live together." Lucas said, even louder than Peyton.

Julian walked into the kitchen rubbing hand over his face, obviously being woken up by Peyton and Lucas. "Don't remind me. Didn't we all make a rule about morning noise?" Julian asked.

"Oh shut up, Julian. What's the matter with you?" Peyton snapped.

"I just want you all to shut up so I can get some sleep!" Julian shouted back at her.

"Well this is the fun part. This is like Real World. So tell us, Haley. What were you and Lucas talking about this morning?" Peyton asked.

Haley glared at her. She was not in the mood this morning for Peyton's attitude. "Go back to bed, Peyton. You look like you could use just a little more beauty sleep."

"No you didn't. Look at you." Peyton said.

"Both of you please stop talking." Julian groaned.

A knock at the door stopped the arguing. Haley looked at the door and got up to answer it. Lucas got up and stood next to Peyton.

As Haley opened the door, Nathan stood on the other side. Haley backed up as he came into the house. "Morning, sexy." He said, as he grabbed Haley's face with both of his hands and kissed her.

Lucas started charging for him, but Peyton was trying to hold him back. "No, no, no." But he was too strong for her. He shoved Nathan to separate them. Haley stumbled back and stood next to Peyton.

"Get the hell away from her! I told you to never come near her again!" Lucas yelled. Julian was now holding the two apart.

"Yea I remember something like that." Nathan taunted.

"Well you obviously didn't listen!"

"Back off, Lucas!" Julian yelled, trying to calm him down.

"Good advice, Baker." Nathan said.

"Get out, now!" Lucas yelled.

"Not until Haley explains why I just kissed her."

"I don't know why!" Haley said, shocked.

"Yea you do. It was part of our assignment for Psych class."

"What the hell is he talking about?" Lucas asked, glancing back at Haley.

"We're lab partners. Or didn't you tell him, Haley?" Nathan said.

Lucas turned to face Haley. "Is this true? Is it true?"

"I was gonna tell you. I'm sorry." She said, reaching for his hand.

"When? After your finals?"

"No!"

"It's no big deal. I'm auditing the class at the university and Haley happens to be in it. And by some stroke of luck we happened to be paired up as partners." Nathan said, smirking.

"And what? You kissing her was some sort of experiment, right?" Lucas asked.

"Yea and I didn't even tell Haley beforehand cause I wanted it to be a surprise."

"Well it was. Was the experiment to see how long it would be for me to kick your face in?" Lucas yelled, getting closer to Nathan.

"I'm trying to elicit some sort of spontaneous reaction in order to predict violent behavior; to see what certain subjects are capable of."

Peyton finally spoke up. "You came in here and you kissed his girlfriend. Any guy would have a violent reaction."

"There are lots of degrees of violence, Peyton."

"Can I talk to you outside please?" Peyton asked, calmly. She needed to get him away from Lucas.

"Sure thing, _boss_." Nathan said, smirking. They both walked outside and Peyton shut the door.

"What are you trying to prove?" she asked.

"Only that Lucas has an extreme reaction to someone hitting on Haley. And if someone, say my brother Damien for example, had come onto her, I'm sure Lucas would've been capable of just about anything."

* * *

Back inside the room, Lucas stared at Haley. "How long has this been going on, Haley?" he asked.

"A few weeks." She answered, not looking at him.

"Did you know about this?" he asked Julian.

"I had no idea."

"How could you keep this from me, Haley?" Lucas asked, getting angry again.

"I'm sorry. This is what he wants. I told you that. He's just trying to prove that you are capable of killing Damien."

"He can't prove it because I wasn't there!"

"_I _was."

Lucas started pacing. "You know that he's gonna link this to you and Peyton, Haley."

"I'm really scared, Lucas. Nathan is the type of guy that's not gonna give up until he finds an answer. And he's just trying to get you to spill the truth. That's why he keeps doing all these things to me."

Lucas stopped pacing and looked at Haley. "All these things? What are you talking about? What else did he do to you, Haley?"

* * *

Peyton and Nathan were still out on the porch talking. Peyton leaned up against the side of the house. "Oh, I see what's going on now."

"Oh you do?" Nathan asked sarcastically.

"You don't care who killed your brother anymore."

Nathan took a step toward her and leaned in. "Look, you watch what you say, Peyton."

"That is not what this Lucas thing is about. It's about _Haley_. You have feelings for her and you are using your brother's death to get closer to her."

Nathan stepped away from her and started pacing. "Ok, Peyton. Let's suppose you are right and I do find Haley to be attractive?"

"Then I say stop terrifying everyone and tell her how you feel."

"But Haley's in love with Lucas."

"You've got that right." Peyton said, rolling her eyes.

"And I think Lucas killed my brother. Which is gonna make this a lot more interesting for me." He stopped pacing and looked at Peyton. "It's gonna be like killing two birds with one stone."

"How many times do I have to tell you? Lucas did not kill Damien!"

Nathan walked over to Peyton and rested his arm on the wall beside her. "Ok so why don't you tell me who did."

"I don't know."

"You don't know? I think you do, Peyton. I think you know a hell of a lot more than you're telling me and I think it's time for you to start talking."

Peyton tried to walk away, but Nathan grabbed her arm. "Let go of me! If I scream the entire street will be out here. Let me go!" she pleaded.

He let her go and watched her quickly go into the house. Nathan sighed and then heard someone behind him. He turned to see a man behind him.

"Hey, Nathan."

"Bear, what the hell are you doing here?"

"You're dragging your feet on Damien's murder. The boss ain't too happy."

"I am working on it, ok."

"Not hard enough. You got 48 hours to wrap this up or all four of them are dead."

Nathan stared at him as he walked away. This was not good. He needed to figure out a way to get Lucas to confess before three innocent people were killed.

* * *

Peyton quickly walked back into the house toward one of the bedrooms. Julian watched her go and made a mental note to check on her after Lucas had finished talking to Haley about Nathan.

Lucas walked over to Haley. "What other things, Haley? What else did Nathan do?"

"Nothing. I'm just talking about in class."

"No, no, no. That's not what you meant, Haley. Look, you have to tell me so that I know what I'm dealing with."

"There's nothing you can do anyway." She said.

"I think I know someone who can help us." Julian spoke up as he looked for the phone.

"Come on, Julian. Whatever it is, it's not gonna work." Lucas argued.

"Just trust me, ok." He said, dialing the phone. "Hi can I speak with Detective Dupre please?"

"Haley, you gotta tell me what else he did." Lucas said, grabbing onto Haley's arms.

"I can't."

"Why the hell not?" he yelled and released Haley's arms.

"_That_ is why. Because he is trying to get you to lose your cool and it looks to me like it's already working."

"I'm fine. Look, I'm not gonna do anything to this guy."

"You promise?"

"Yes I promise, ok. Keeping you safe is all I care about. You should not be scared anymore."

"Ok." Haley took a breath. "Nathan joined the class on purpose. He was trying to get close to me so that you would go after him."

"Keep going." Lucas encouraged. He was trying to stay calm.

"So like he said, he signed us up to be study partners. And one day outside the diner, he kissed me."

"This was the second time?" he asked, now getting angry.

Haley winced. "Yea."

"Oh! That's it!" he yelled, heading for the door. But Haley grabbed his arm.

"Lucas, you promised!"

"I know I promised, but he needs it, Haley!"

"If you go after him, we are in so much trouble, it's not even funny."

Lucas rubbed his hands over his face and took a deep breath. "Ok. I'm fine. I'm ok."

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you. You know I never wanna keep secrets from you. I'm just really afraid of what's going to happen."

Lucas pulled her into a hug. "It's ok. I'm never gonna let anyone hurt you ever again. Everything's gonna be fine."

Haley pulled away. "Ok I'm just gonna go get dressed and you stay here." She said, walking towards the bathroom.

Lucas closed his eyes. He knew what he had to do. It was going to be the hardest thing he had ever done in his life. But he had to do it to save her.

As soon as Haley was out of earshot Lucas turned to Julian. "I've got to get Nathan out of Tree Hill."

"And how do you plan to do that?"

"I'll make up some excuse to go out of town and I'll tell her I'll be gone for a few days, but I won't come back. That way Nathan will follow me and leave her the hell alone. This is the only way to get Nathan Scott out of her life. And you've got to let me do this. You can't tell her I'm leaving until I'm gone. You've got to let me do this."

Haley walked back into the living room and headed for the kitchen. Lucas and Julian exchanged glances. "I'll take care of that thing you asked me to do." Julian said.

"Thanks, man."

"I'm gonna go check on Peyton." Julian said, walking towards the room that Peyton had gone into.

Lucas turned and watched Haley getting stuff together for breakfast. "So um…I just got a phone call."

Haley turned to him and smiled. "Yea?"

"You know how I sent my book to a bunch of publishers a while back?" Haley nodded. "Well the phone call was from one of the publishers in New York. And he said that he's interested in my book."

"That's incredible!" Haley smiled, walking over to him. "So when are you going?"

"They said as soon as possible. I was thinking of leaving after the New Years."

"Wow, that's so great! When are you coming back?"

Lucas smiled nervously. "It'll only be a few days. You'll hardly know I'm gone."

"Yea right." She said and then kissed his cheek. "Just don't go to New York and forget about me."

"Never. Look, I'm sorry to be leaving you like this, but Julian said he'll take care of you, keep an eye on you."

"Don't worry about me. I'll be fine."

"That's like telling me not to breathe. With Nathan out there, all I do is worry about you."

"I will be fine."

"Ok." Lucas pulled her into a hug. "With me gone, Nathan won't come after you anymore. Because the only reason he's coming after you is to get a rise out of me. You'll be safe."

He hoped to God that was true.


	9. Chapter 8

Nathan was behind the bar at Tric for the New Year's Eve party, when Bear walked up. Why was he always around lately? "What the hell are you doing here?" he asked.

"Just making sure you heard me."

"I heard you and I'm on it. Just get out of here."

"Nathan, you got 48 hours to find Damien's killer or all four of your pals can say 'bye bye'."

"You back off, Bear. You remember something, you work for us."

"You know who we _both_ answer to. The boss. You're getting friendly with this James girl. I would start taking this seriously."

"Well the boss is wrong. Come on, get out."

"48 hours or they're dead." Bear said one more time before walking out the door.

In another part of the club, Peyton was on edge again. She was just like before, snapping at people and yelling. "People are lined up outside ready to come in here and this place isn't ready yet?!" she yelled at her staff. "You know what, get it all done or you all can ring in the New Year with unemployment!"

Peyton turned around and saw Nathan standing there. "Pressure's on, huh?"

"I thought you left." She said, moving around him and walking toward the bar. But before she could get there, Nathan grabbed her arm.

"Hey, we still have some unfinished business. I want this thing wrapped up before the New Year. You understand?"

Peyton yanked her arm away and backed up slightly. "You're on a schedule now?"

"Stop wasting my time, Peyton!"

"I told you. I don't know who killed your brother."

"Right, but you do know that it wasn't Lucas?" he asked, sarcastically.

"Right. It wasn't Lucas. You know, here's another news flash for you, Nathan. Even if you did get rid of Lucas to get Haley, you still wouldn't have her. Because she can't stand you. In fact, I quote 'the creep makes my skin crawl.' "

"Oh yea? Haley said that?" Nathan smirked.

"Yea. It must be genetic thing. Damien made her sick too."

"You don't say." Nathan was starting to get annoyed.

"And as far as I'm concerned, you're just a slicker version of your creep brother."

Peyton didn't give Nathan a chance to respond. She walked away, toward her office.

* * *

Haley walked into Tric and saw Nathan setting up for the party. It had been two weeks since he kissed her in front of Lucas. She and Lucas decided to avoid him at all costs until after the holidays. Luckily, Nathan had stayed away from them. She suspected he was spending time with his family. She hated that she still felt sorry for him because it was the first Christmas without his brother. Why did she have to feel like this? He was nothing but trouble for her and her friends.

Nathan was placing chairs around all the tables when she walked up to him. "Shouldn't you be off somewhere digging for truffles?"

"Meaning?"

"You're a pig. How dare you kiss me like that!"

Nathan stopped what he was doing and turned to her. "Well I've never really had a complaint before."

"Hey! Don't ever pull that again. I swear you'll be sorry."

"I see what you and Lucas see in each other. You both have a temper." He taunted.

"Don't even go there, ok. Because your lame attempt at kissing me was only a reason to get Lucas to come after you so that you can…" she couldn't say the word.

"What? Kill him?"

"Yes. Look, whoever killed your brother is probably long gone by now. So why don't you just do the same and leave us alone.'

"You know, Haley, I really wish that I was wrong about you guys. Especially you. I wish that I could believe that you were being honest with me, but I know the four of you had something to do with Damien's murder or you at least know who did."

"And what if I swore that we didn't?"

"It wouldn't matter, because there are other people who don't believe you either and they are getting very impatient. They want this situation resolved and soon, Haley."

"What people? What are you talking about?"

"Never mind." He said, as he started to walk away.

"Wait a second! Oh, I get it. The family takes care of itself now, is that it? That's what you're threatening me with? Oh please, Nathan. I saw the Godfather. It doesn't scare me any more than you do." She said, walking away.

Nathan just shook his head. "You should be scared, Haley. Time is running out." He said to himself.

* * *

Peyton walked into her office to see Lucas with two overnight bags and hanging up the phone. "Where are you going?"

Lucas looked at her. He didn't know how to break this to her. He was having trouble breaking it to himself. "I'm going to New York."

"For what? Does Haley know?"

"Yes she knows…most of it."

"What do you mean most of it? What aren't you telling her?"

"I told her that I got a call from a book publisher in New York and that I'll be back in a few days."

"What are you really doing?"

Lucas hesitated and sighed, "I'm leaving for good."

Peyton's eyes began to water. "What?"

"This way Nathan will come after me and stay away from you and Haley. But Peyton, I need you to do something for me."

"What?"

"I need you to tell Nathan that I killed Damien."

"Why?!"

"So that he stays away from you and Haley.

Peyton was now crying. "What about you? Nathan will do anything to avenge Damien's death! He will find you."

"I'm gonna fall off the face of the planet. He's not gonna find me."

"You don't understand, ok. It's not just Nathan! He has connections!" She was becoming hysterical.

Lucas grabbed the sides of her arms. "Peyt, calm down."

Peyton took a few breaths. "Ok."

"Promise me, that you're gonna do this. If you care about me, you're gonna go tell Nathan that I killed his brother."

Before Peyton could respond, Haley walked into the office. She noticed Peyton crying. "What's going on?" Haley asked. Peyton wiped the tears off her cheeks and walked away from Lucas.

"Peyton and I were trying to figure out who's gonna take care of the club while I'm gone, but we worked it all out. Right, Peyton?"

Peyton didn't respond; she just stared at Lucas. Then she walked out of her office, shaking her head.

Haley sighed as she left. Lucas noticed this. "Hey, what's wrong?" he asked.

Lucas placed his hands on her hips and she placed her arms around his neck. "I was just thinking about how much I love you and about how much I wish we weren't so boxed in. And everything's just been so hard for us ever since Nathan came to town and I just want everything to get back to normal. That's all I want. That's all I ever want."

Lucas placed his forehead on hers. "I love you. More than you can ever imagine." He pulled her into a hug and kissed her hair.

This was going to be more difficult than he thought.

"I know this trip is only temporary, but I'm gonna miss you like crazy."

" I'm gonna miss you too, Haley. More than you know."

Haley suddenly pulled back and smiled. "I have an idea."

"What's that?"

"Let me go with you."

Lucas let go of her. "Uh, no. You can't."

"Yes, come on. It'll be great! It'll be so much fun! I haven't been to New York since I was a kid."

"Well you're not a kid anymore."

"Which would make it so much better. During the day you can go do your novel stuff and go meet with the publisher and at night we can do stuff together."

"No! Ok, you just can't." Lucas yelled. He didn't mean to yell at her, but he couldn't let her come.

"You're just shooting me down, just like that? Why?"

"Haley, I have to concentrate on what I have to do up there."

Haley put her hands around his neck again, trying to persuade him. "So concentrate during the day and at night we can go to restaurants, go on a carriage ride in Central Park. It'll be so romantic."

Lucas pulled her hands off him and walked away from her. "No! Haley, you just can't." She wasn't getting it. She didn't understand, which was making Lucas a little agitated.

"Why are you acting like this? I just want us to be together, Lucas." Haley was getting agitated too.

"I want that too, Haley." He said, pulling her into a hug. "But I'm sorry, you just can't go." Haley pulled away and sat down on the sofa in the office. Lucas followed and sat next to her. "Look, it's not like I don't want you with me, but-"

"Well, what then?"

"You have school, right? You have school starting back up on Monday and I don't want you to miss school for this. This is a short trip, Haley."

Haley sighed. "We've just been cooped up in your house for God knows how long worrying about Nathan. Me, you, Julian and Peyton all in the same place is crazy. We haven't had any privacy."

"I know, Haley. And I'm sorry about that."

"Me too. I really miss you, Lucas."

"I love you." He said, leaning over and kissing her. As he began to deepen the kiss, she pulled away. "What?" he asked her.

"Don't leave until morning."

"I can't."

"Lucas, please." She pleaded.

"Haley, I can't."

Haley started to cry and Lucas pulled her into a hug, just holding her.

* * *

Peyton walked back into the main room of Tric. She was trying to compose herself so that no one would suspect that she had been crying. As she walked near the bar, she saw Nathan and began to tear up again. She couldn't do it. She couldn't tell him what Lucas wanted her to.

She was about to walk past the bar, but Nathan had spotted her and stepped in front of her, blocking her path. "Well you look like hell. Was it something I said?" Peyton shook her head. "What's up?"

"If you promise to leave us alone, I'll tell you what you want to know about your brother."

"Surprise, surprise you do know who killed Damien, don't you?" Nathan replied rhetorically. He got closer to her. "It was Lucas, wasn't it?"

Peyton was silent for a few seconds. She had to decide who to protect, Haley or Lucas. "No. It was Haley. Haley James killed your brother. I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner. I should have."

Nathan stared at her. She was lying. Haley couldn't have done it. It wasn't possible. "Haley? Haley killed Damien?" Peyton nodded. "No. Come on, there's no way. Damien was hitting on Haley and Lucas surprised them-"

"Lucas didn't do anything! I swear it! I know."

"You know? You know because he told you?"

"No. I know because…" Peyton turned away from him and walked away, but Nathan grabbed her arm and pushed her against a wall.

"How is it that all of a sudden you're so full of all this inside information, Peyton?"

"Haley confessed everything. She told me everything. Lucas had been trying to protect her and that's why he's making you think it was him. And he's running away so that you think it's him."

"What do you mean he's running away?"

"Lucas is leaving, Nathan. He's leaving forever."

"You're telling me that Lucas is gonna take off and just leave his girlfriend behind?"

"He'd do anything to protect her."

Nathan put his arms up on the wall next to her head, blocking her in. "I don't buy it. Haley is half my brother's size. It had to be Lucas, that's why he's leaving town."

"Lucas didn't kill your brother, Nathan. It was Haley." Peyton said again, trying to get it through his head.

"How?! You tell me how." Nathan was becoming angry.

"It was an accident."

"An accident?" Nathan took his hands down from the wall, clenching his hands into fists.

"Yes! Damien was acting like a lunatic, ok. He grabbed Haley and he was gonna take her some place and he…" Peyton was beginning to cry.

"What? He was gonna what?"

"He was gonna rape her."

"You listen to me. My brother may have been a lot of things but he was _not_ a rapist."

"I am just telling you what happened, ok. Now I don't know, maybe your brother was high or he was over the edge, but he was hurting Haley. And she tried to get away, but he was too strong for her. And she got scared and she didn't know what to do so she picked up a rock…" Peyton was now sobbing.

"What? She did what?" Nathan was getting angrier and angrier every second.

"She hit him. And he just fell, I guess."

"You guess?!" Nathan grabbed her face with his hand. "You guess?! It sounds like you know every detail, Peyton!"

Peyton pushed his hand away and continued to cry. "I only know because Haley told me a thousand times." Nathan started breathing heavily, trying to calm down. "She feels horrible, Nathan."

"Oh she does?"

"Yea, she does. She's never done anything like that before." Peyton began to wipe the tears off her cheeks.

"What she did has a name, Peyton. It's called murder!"

Peyton was shocked. Hadn't he heard what she said? "It was an accident. If she could've done anything differently, she would've. If she could have stopped him any other way, she would've."

"She really had me fooled. And I didn't peg her for a liar either."

"She's not. She just didn't know what to do, Nathan, except to keep lying."

Suddenly, Ellie Harp walked up. She was an older woman who had recently joined the staff as a waitress. "Peyton I need to talk to you."

Nathan turned to her. "We're busy."

"I'm not talking to you." Ellie fired back. Peyton walked past Nathan and stood in front of Ellie. "What's wrong?" Ellie asked her.

"Just walk away."

"I'll wait for you over there." Ellie said, before glaring at Nathan and then walking away.

Nathan walked up behind Peyton. "Where is she?"

"Who?"

"Who do you think? Haley." He turned her around to face him. "Where is she? With Lucas? Let's go." He started dragging her away from the bar.

Peyton stopped. "No! No!"

"You better help me find her, Peyton!"

Peyton placed her hand on his mouth. "You can never tell them that I told you this." Nathan yanked her hand off his mouth. "You have to leave my name out of it.

"You tell me where she is, Peyton!"

"I don't understand! I told you the truth so that no one would get hurt. I thought you cared about Haley!"

"And you thought that was gonna save her?!"

Peyton began to cry again. "What?! I don't understand! It was an accident! I thought you liked her!"

"Damien was my brother, Peyton. He was my brother. Besides, there are other people who want revenge. This was taken way out of my hands a long time ago. Somebody's gonna have to pay."


	10. Chapter 9

**Well here's another update for you. I'm glad you're all liking the story. You'll recognize some of the dialogue from the prologue. Enjoy :)**

* * *

Haley had finally stopped crying and now she and Lucas sat in his car in the parking lot of Tric. "I can't believe how long it's been. I've missed you so much, having your full attention."

"You know you deserve more than attention, Haley. You deserve a life of happiness with security."

Haley looked up at him. "And we're gonna have that. You and me against the world." She smiled.

"You know, I'm gonna thank God everyday because of you. You've changed my life, Haley. I can barely remember who I used to be before I met you. You made me become a man. You gave me the best gift, Haley. I became a man because of you, _with_ you."

"You're thinking some pretty deep thoughts tonight."

"That's because I'm not gonna see you for…for a few days." He lied.

"Well I promise that I will be right here waiting for you when you get back." She smiled, running her fingers through his hair.

Lucas couldn't say anything back. So he just kissed her. He kissed her so that he wouldn't forget what it felt like. What she felt like.

* * *

Peyton was sobbing as she chased after Nathan through the club. He was on his way to her office to confront Haley. "Stop! Nathan, she's not in there!"

Nathan stopped and turned around. "How?! How do you know, Peyton?!"

"Lucas is gone already! And I don't know where Haley is."

"Right, right." He began walking towards her office again.

"Stop!" she pleaded.

Nathan turned to her again. "I will find her myself!" He didn't give her a chance to respond. He stormed away from her, toward her office.

Nathan quickly walked out of the staff room with his coat on. He had to find Haley quick, before someone else did.

As he headed for the door, Bear stood in front of him. "Looks like you're in a hurry, Natey Boy."

"Yea, I am. Look, I got an answer to our little problem."

"Oh yea? So you know what to do?"

"Yea, I know what to do! Just stay the hell off my back, ok!"

With that, he angrily opened the door of Tric and headed for town to find Haley.

* * *

Haley and Lucas standing next to Lucas' car. Lucas was about to leave, so they were saying their goodbyes. "You sure didn't pack light." Haley said, noticing the two bags Lucas had in his car.

"Well I have to be prepared for whatever the publishers want. I may have to go to fancy dinners and dress up."

"Lucas, you're only gonna be gone for a couple days." She chuckled.

"I know. But New York has some pretty strange weather sometimes. And it's not like I had a whole lot of time to sort out my clothes. I just threw it all in." Haley stood up on her tiptoes and buried her head into his neck. "I don't want to leave." He said.

Haley pulled back and looked at him confused. "What are you talking about? This is a great opportunity for you."

"I just hate leaving you by yourself."

"I hate it too, but we'll see each other before you know it. Unless you meet some New York chick and forget all about me." She half joked.

"Hey, hey. I am not gonna meet some New York chick, ok. I will never forget you." He brought his hand up and rubbed her cheek with his thumb. "I have every feature of your amazing face memorized."

"Lucas, I was just teasing. I know you love me."

"I do. And don't forget it." He said, kissing her.

Haley pulled away and smiled. "Get out of here. You'll do great."

Lucas walked around to the driver's side of his car and climbed in. He started the car and stared at Haley. He was trying to remember every single thing about her. How her hair was, how she was dressed, the little beauty mark above her lip, everything. This would be the last time he would ever see her face.

"I love you." He said, before driving away.

Haley stood there watching him drive off, trying to contain the tears that were about to fall. She knew he would only be gone for a few days, but that didn't stop her from feeling like a part of her was gone.

"Isn't the wrong person running away, Haley?" a voice said.

Haley instantly recognized the voice and turned around to see Nathan standing behind her. She grew terrified. He knew. He knew she killed Damien.

Nathan walked toward her, forcing Haley to back up against the wall of a building. "Why? Why didn't you just tell me the truth in the beginning, Haley?"

"What truth?" she asked, beginning to cry.

"Lucas did not kill Damien, _you_ did! And now there's only one way to finish this."

"Oh my God, Nathan! You're actually gonna kill me?!" she was terrified.

"Shut up!" Nathan grabbed her arm, pulling her away from the wall. "Come with me."

"I didn't mean to!" Haley pleaded.

Nathan covered her mouth with his hand and wrapped the other around her body, holding onto her tight. "The game is over, Haley. Please don't make this any harder for me than it already is."

* * *

Nathan was still holding Haley when they walked onto the beach. After Nathan had taken her to his car, he had driven her here. Haley was really uncertain as to why.

"Why did you bring me here?" she asked.

"You're a smart girl, Haley! Why don't you guess why I brought you here!" he said, shoving her.

"Oh my God! You're gonna kill me where I killed your brother!" she said, terrified.

Nathan turned her around and grabbed Haley's face with both of his hands. "I want you to tell me exactly what happened that night! I wanna hear it from you! Out of your mouth, in your own words. I want you to tell me how you killed my brother!"

"I can't!"

"You can. You can, Haley, you will."

"I can't! I can't!" she pleaded.

"Ok." Then Nathan shoved her into the sand on the beach. "Then show me! Show me where you did it! Show me the exact spot! Show me how you took my brother's life!"

Haley was sobbing, but she was able to sit up in the sand. "I thought he was gonna rape me." She said, calmly. She was hoping that he would understand.

"No, no, no." Nathan kneeled and grabbed the sides of her neck with both hands. "Back up! You tell me from the beginning. I wanna know everything."

"I came here-"

"Alone? Alone or with someone?" he asked, letting go of her neck.

"I was alone. Or at least I thought I was and then Damien showed up. And I asked him what he was doing here." Haley began to cry again. "He didn't answer me. He just grabbed me and wouldn't let go. He looked at me like I was nothing! Like he could do whatever he wanted and just throw me away! I was scared for my life, Nathan! What was I supposed to do?! I kicked him and he wouldn't let go. And then I kicked him again and he tripped. And I saw him coming after me again so I picked up a rock and I hit him. I'm sorry! I hit him, ok! I'm sorry! I just wanted him to stop!" Haley lowered her head and continued to cry.

Nathan began to tear up. He knew she was telling the truth, but that didn't mean that she wouldn't have to pay. It was killing him. He got a hold of himself and breathed in. "Ok, wow. You know, until now I didn't really believe you. I wasn't sure it was you, but you did a good job, Haley. You did a good job." Haley's head shot up, and stared at him, shocked. "You convinced me." Nathan stood up. "But unfortunately, your confession isn't really in your best interest."

Nathan thought for a moment and ran his fingers through his hair. "You know, I don't really buy something, Haley. I don't buy that you were here alone. Who was with you? Lucas?"

"No! Lucas has nothing to do with it."

"Come on, Haley! My brother was a big guy. He was twice the size of you. There is no way! I don't believe you."

"I can tell you the truth or I can tell you what you wanna hear! What do you want?!" she screamed.

Nathan grabbed the sides of her arms, forcing her to stand up. "I want the truth!"

"Ok, ok! I was alone! I was alone! And I hit him in the right spot and I'm sorry. I didn't mean to kill him! I swear!"

Nathan pulled Haley to him trying to calm her down. Haley instinctively wrapped her arms around him. "Ok, listen to me. I know what kinda guy my brother was. I loved him, but he had a lot of problems with his drinking and drugs and gambling." Nathan put both hands on the sides of her head and pushed her face away so that he could look at her. "Listen, the way you told me what happened…it sounds right. It makes sense. I believe that you didn't mean to do it."

Haley sighed. "You believe me?! You understand?!"

Nathan suddenly dropped his hands and moved away from her. "Don't ask me to understand! Don't ask me to tell you that it was ok, Haley! He was my brother. He was my family and you killed him."

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Bear watching them. He had to make it seem like he was gonna do what he was supposed to. "I'm sorry, Haley. But if I don't take care of you, someone else will."

"Please let me go, Nathan! I'm sorry!" she pleaded.

"You're wasting your breath."

"He was attacking me! Why don't you believe me?!"

Nathan walked forward and grabbed the sides of her head. "It doesn't matter what I believe. The only thing that matters is that my brother is dead. And you killed him. So quit giving me all this crap about not understanding! All you're trying to do is stall."

"I'm not."

"It's not gonna work, Haley! Nothing is gonna work, I told you. This was taken out of my hands a long time ago. Word has come down that Damien's killer has got pay, and that's you, right?"

"What are you gonna do with me?!" Haley began thrashing around, trying to get Nathan to let her go. "If you were gonna kill me, why haven't you done it already?!"

"I was wondering the same thing." Bear said, walking toward them.

Nathan let go of Haley. "Bear, why do you keep following me?"

"I'm making sure you aren't getting soft for this pretty, young thing. I'm making sure you get the job done." Nathan stepped in front of Haley.

"Who are you?" Haley asked, terrified.

"I was a friend of Damien's." he said, walking toward her.

Nathan put his hand on Bear's shoulder and stopped him. "Hey, how'd you find us?"

"How do you think? I followed you from the club."

"You've got nothing else to do, Bear?" he asked, agitated.

"Something like that."

"You better hope no one followed you."

"That'll be the day, when I can't lose someone following me."

"Right now you are just a distraction!"

Haley saw an opportunity to make a run for it with the two of them arguing. But Nathan grabbed her, wrapping both arms around her so she couldn't move. "No!" she yelled.

"How am I a distraction?!" Bear asked, angrily.

"I didn't mean to kill him!" Haley said to the man, hoping he would help her. But Nathan put his hand on her mouth.

"Shut up! You killed my brother! You're gonna pay!" he yelled in her ear. He looked at Bear. "Go make sure no one followed you."

"Ain't nobody-"

"I said go make sure! I swear, you screw this up, it'll be the last mistake you ever make for my family."

Bear glared at him as he walked away. Nathan continued to hold onto Haley as he watched him leave.

As soon as Bear was out the door, Haley yanked out of Nathan's grasp. "You're a monster!" She ran a short distance before angrily turning to face him. He was right behind her. "If you think I'm gonna beg you for my life, you're wrong. I wouldn't give you the satisfaction!"

Nathan just stared at her, not saying a word. Then he reached down and took his gun out of his belt. "Turn around." He said quietly.

Haley shook her head. "If you're gonna kill me, you're gonna do it staring in my face!" Nathan grabbed her shoulder and forced her to turn around. "No!"

"I'm sorry, Haley. I'm so sorry. I have no other choice."

All that was heard was a single gunshot.

Bear walked back to Nathan and saw an unmoving, face-down Haley James in the ocean. Nathan was standing next the water, just staring at her body. "Go tell the boss it's done."

"You did good, Natey Boy."


	11. Chapter 10

Nathan began helping Haley out of the water. She was coughing and shaking. When she sat down on the ground he began taking off her wet jacket. "Are you ok?" he asked.

"I'm freezing."

"I know. Here." He said, taking off his own jacket and putting it on her.

"I don't know if I should trust you." She said honestly.

"What?" he asked, as he began helping her stand up.

"Why did you do that? You whispered in my ear to get in the water and pretend I was dead." She asked, both confused and terrified.

Nathan put his hands on the side of her head. "I told you, I knew my brother. I knew what he was capable of doing to people. And I believe you. I believe what you said about it being him or you on the beach that night."

Haley sighed with relief and smiled. "Thank you! Thank you for not killing me. I'm sorry for everything I said."

"Forget the apologies. I gotta figure out what I'm gonna do." He said, dropping his hands and walking away from her.

"About what?" she asked, pulling his jacket tighter around her body.

"You don't think they're just gonna let me off the hook when they realize that you're still alive, do you?"

"They who?"

"They don't like being crossed."

"Who are you talking about?!" Haley pleaded.

"Forget it. It doesn't matter. You don't need to know."

"You said it was out of your hands."

"Yea, it is."

"You said something about a boss. That's the person I should be afraid of, right?"

"Yea."

"Didn't you say he was a member of your family? If you're related just explain it to him."

Nathan turned around and looked at her. "Haley, that's not how it works. Once an order comes down from the top it's gotta happen. And if it doesn't then somebody's gotta answer for it."

"So I'll run away. I'll disappear." She offered.

"No, you can't do that."

"Why not?"

Nathan grabbed Haley's head between his hands. "Because you'll give yourself away. They will find you, Haley."

"I'll keep up the pretense that I'm dead."

"Come on, you can't do that. You can't stay away from your family and your friends. You know that."

"Then I'll go to the police."

"You wouldn't last a minute with them."

"There has to be something that I can do!" she pleaded.

Nathan let go of her head and walked away from her. "I should've thought this all the way through." he mumbled to himself. He stopped and thought for a minute. Could this really work?

Haley noticed the look on his face. "What? What are you thinking?"

Nathan turned to her and walked to her until he stood right in front of her. " I wonder…" he said, as he began to run his fingers through her hair. "I wonder if you're worth risking my neck for. As far as I can see, there's only one way out of this."

"What is it? What do I have to do? What if I don't wanna do it?"

Nathan grabbed her face with his hands. "Listen, Haley. You don't have a choice. You don't. You're gonna have to do exactly what I tell you to do."

* * *

Nathan opened the door to the Scott Mansion and ushered Haley inside. "Come on. Don't be scared."

"Don't be scared? Nathan, less than 24 hours ago I though you were gonna kill me. You shot a gun off and pushed me into the ocean."

"Haley, I told you why I did that."

"Yea, because if you didn't take care of me then somebody else would. Which doesn't make me feel all that secure right now." She said, walking away from him.

"Relax, ok. I told you, this is gonna be our one way out of this."

"Yea, well I'm not sure your way was much better than being shot."

"Well, I'm very sorry you feel that way. But like I said, you gotta pay for Damien's murder one way or another."

She turned around and faced him. "It was self defense! I told you that!" she replied angrily.

"And I told you that no one in this house gives a damn."

"So what now?"

"I'm gonna have to explain why I disobeyed the order."

"You mean why I'm still alive?"

"Yea. Look, I can do this and so can you."

"I can't. They're not gonna believe you. They're gonna know." She said turning her back to him.

Nathan grabbed her arm and turned her around. "Haley, they're gonna believe me. They have to. Your life depends on it."

"Are you telling me that I may not make it out of here?"

"Don't think like that. It's not gonna help."

"I thought you said I was safe now!" she replied with a hint of fear in her voice.

"Haley, safety is never guaranteed. Not here. Not in my world." He said, letting go of her arm.

"Well I don't understand a world where people kill each other to get revenge."

"It's not about revenge, Haley. It's about justice. It's about an eye for an eye."

"It was self defense! You know that!"

"It doesn't matter what I know. There are rules in this family and they are taken very seriously. If somebody hurts one of us, then we gotta hurt that person back. That's the way it is."

Haley was starting to get upset. "I have a family too, remember? I've been missing overnight. They're probably half out of their minds looking for me. My brother and Peyton and probably…" she stopped suddenly and began to tear up. "Oh God. What am I gonna tell Lucas when he gets back from New York? He's never gonna understand this."

Nathan grabbed her shoulders. "You are gonna make him understand. You hear me? You have to."

Suddenly doors opened and Haley gasped. She backed up trying to get as far away from the door as possible. Bear walked through the door looking extremely angry. Nathan walked over to Haley and stood between her and Bear. "You got a reanimation thing going on here, Nathan?"

"Just keep your pants on."

"You lied to me, Nathan! You told me that you took care of her."

"This is my business, not yours." Nathan hissed.

"Oh yea? Do you wanna kiss your butt goodbye or should I? You're a fool, Nathan. You're throwing your whole life away, everything you've worked for, everything you've been groomed for on some two-bit piece of work off the street."

Nathan lunged for Bear. He grabbed him by his shirt collar angrily. "Hey, don't you ever talk about Haley like that again. Ever. You are an employee here. You are _not_ a member of this family." He let go of his collar. "Now you go and you announce me. Go." He shoved him toward the doors.

"I'll see if the boss is up for this." He glared before turning and walking back through the doors that he had come in from.

"Who is the boss? Why is everybody so scared of him?" Haley asked.

"Look, just don't ask any questions right now."

Bear came back into the room and walked up to Nathan. "The boss will see you now. Good luck Natey Boy. You're gonna need it."

As he walked away Nathan stared at him and shook his head. "Ok, are you ready?" he asked her.

"I'm scared." She admitted.

"Listen to me." Nathan put both hands on the side of her head and looked at her. "I'm not gonna let anything happen to you. Nothing is gonna happen to you, ok. But you gotta trust me with this."

"I don't really have a choice, do I?" she asked rhetorically.

"No." He put his hands down and guided her to the doors that Bear had come out of. "Come on."

As they walked in, Haley noticed that it was a huge office. There was a desk in the middle of the room with a bookcase behind it. On the opposite side of the room was a fireplace. There were also a number of sofas and armchairs all around the room.

Nathan came up behind her and pushed her toward the desk where the large chair was turned around. Which obviously had someone in it.

As the chair turned, Haley came face to face with "the boss". Only he was a _she_. The woman had blonde hair and looked extremely angry. She slammed the book in her hand down on the desk.

"Mom, this is Haley. Haley James."

"I know who she is!" She turned her head and looked at Haley. "You killed my son." Haley began to tear up. "How dare you bring my son's murderer into _my_ house."

"I didn't mean to. It was an accident. I am so sorry." Haley said.

"You're sorry?"

"Yes, I'm sorry. And I'm so grateful for this opportunity to apologize to you in person. I can only imagine how difficult this must be. Actually I don't have to imagine. I know what's it's like to lose someone you love. I lost my mother in a car accident."

Nathan suddenly spoke up. "Mom, Haley is not at all comparing what happened to her mother to what happened to Damien."

"No, I'm just saying that what happened to my mother was an accident and what happened to Damien was an _accident_. And it was just a different-" Haley said.

"Why did you do it?! Why did you kill my son?" she yelled.

"She was defending herself, mom. Look, Damien was hitting on her and he wouldn't leave her alone." Nathan defended.

"He attacked me and-"

"You killed my son and then you come here to disrespect his memory!"

"No, no! I'm just…I'm not saying Damien was bad. I'm just saying that he got a little carried away. He was offended because I didn't like him that way. And he was angry-"

"Haley, that's enough." Nathan interrupted.

"No it's not enough! You have to understand! I didn't mean to, it was an accident!" she pleaded. "You're a woman. You must know what it's like to feel frightened in_ that_ way."

"She was trying to get away from him, mom." Nathan continued.

"He wouldn't let go. He just kept holding on. And I was trying to defend myself the only way I knew how. It was an accident. I didn't mean to kill him. I would never kill anybody, ever. You have to understand that. Please, tell me that you understand that."

She stood up and glared at Haley. "You think that because I am a woman that I am as weak and defenseless as you, that I will understand? Forgive? _That_, my dear, was your last mistake."

Haley began to walk around the desk to get closer to her. But Nathan grabbed her arm and held her back. "I didn't mean to offend you Mrs. Scott. I'm just trying to explain."

"Explain? There can be no explanation. You killed my son. You killed his future, my grandchildren, their grandchildren. Damien Scott is no more! I will never see my son walk through that door again. And it is because of you. You are responsible."

"I was just trying to get away from him. I swear."

"You left on a beach. Alone, the life draining out of him!"

"There isn't a day that goes by that I don't relive it. It will haunt me for the rest of my life. And if I could go back and change everything, I would. But I can't and I'm sorry."

"My son is lost to me forever. My son is dead because of you. There is no forgiveness." She began walking toward the doors. "Bear!' she called.

Nathan followed her and grabbed his mother's hand. "Let me explain this, mom."

She yanked her hand away from him and started walking back toward Haley. "This is finished!"

Nathan followed her. "Mom, nobody wanted this to happen. Nobody intended Damien to die. Least of all Haley."

She turned and looked at her son. "Don't make excuses for your own weakness."

"What?"

"You dishonor your brother. You don't give a damn about his life, his blood!"

"Of course I do. I loved Damien. You know that. He was my brother. But he made a mistake." He replied angrily.

"_She_ made the mistake! Damien Scott was a pebble in her shoe and she destroyed him."

"He was attacking her. Mom, he was going to rape her."

"She says that, but where is he to defend himself? Why do you bring this girl into my house? You take her side. You spit on your own brother's grave."

"Damien screwed up, mom. And he paid for that mistake with his life."

"We have a code!"

"It was a mistake."

"Without family there is nothing. Are you going to kill her? Are you going to avenge your brother's murder?"

Nathan glanced at Haley and went to stand in front of her. He turned back around and looked at his mother. "No I'm not gonna do that."

Deb looked at her son with a mixture of confusion and disgust. Then she turned to Bear, who had come into the room. "Give me your gun. I'll do it myself." She told him.

"You wouldn't really shoot me." Haley pleaded behind Nathan.

"Would you prefer that I slit your throat?"

"I explained it to you! I told you what happened!" Haley cried.

Nathan noticed that Bear had taken his gun out and was handing it to his mother. "Bear, put the gun away." He ordered.

"You're not the boss."

"I said put it away. Put the gun away!"

Haley was holding onto Nathan's arm as she stood behind him. She had never been so scared in her entire life.

"Do you want me to take care of this?" Bear asked Deb.

"If you are still my son, get out of the way!" she ordered.

"I'm not gonna let you kill Haley, mom."

"Get out of the way!"

"You can't kill Haley."

"Gun, Bear." He handed it to her.

"You can't kill her, mom."

"Give me one good reason why not." she said, pointing the gun at them.

"Because Haley is my wife, mom!" Nathan admitted. "Haley and I are married."


	12. Chapter 11

**Here's another update for you guys :) **

* * *

"_You can't kill her, mom."_

"_Give me one good reason why not." she said, pointing the gun at them._

"_Because Haley is my wife, mom!" Nathan admitted. "Haley and I are married."_

"Your wife?" she asked shocked.

"You heard me."

"How? When?"

"Today. We went to a justice of the peace."

"Why would you marry her? Your brother's killer. Why would you do this?" she still had the gun pointed at them.

"Why do any two people get married, mom?" he asked, bringing Haley out from behind him so that she stood beside him. "We're in love. We love each other."

"You were supposed to take care of this. I was told you took care of this last night!"

"I had to make you think that. There was no other way."

"No other way?"

"No. There was no other way." He repeated.

"You betrayed this family. You spit on the memory of your brother if you marry the trash who killed him."

"It's done, mom."

"It's done when _I_ say it's done."

"If you do anything to Haley, you'll be breaking the family code."

"How dare you tell me about the family."

"It's one of your rules, mom. We don't kill family. Remember? It's what you've always told me. And Haley is family now."

Deb just stared at her son before she angrily handed the gun back to Bear. "You come here and make a mockery of everything I taught you, everything I stand for, respect for this family so that you can sleep with this little whore!"

"You don't know me. Don't talk about me that way!" Haley yelled before she could stop herself. Nathan put his hand on her arm to calm her down.

"I want you to take a good look at this face." She pointed at Haley. "Because it is going to be the last one you see."

Now Haley was angry. She didn't care about what she might say. "You wanna know about your precious son, the drug dealer? He was a blackmailer and a pig!" Mrs. Scott slapped her, but Haley continued. "Your son attacked me. He had is arm wrapped around my neck so tight, I could barely breathe. He almost strangled me to death! I was kicking and I was screaming and it didn't make a difference because he was too strong. And he started to drag me off to his car to rape me or worse. And the whole time he was cracking jokes!"

She took a deep breath to calm down. "I didn't mean to kill your son. I was protecting myself and I'm sorry for your loss. And I'm sorry that I lied to you before, because if I had to go back and do it over again, I would do the same thing."

"You're a real spitfire aren't you? I should've just shot you and asked questions later."

"That's how you solve all your problems? No wonder Damien turned out the way he did."

"How dare you-"

"Mom! Haley!" Nathan finally interrupted. "Mom, she is a daughter to you now. Both of you act like it."

"You think you're real smart with your college education. I regret the day that I sent you. What have you learned, but to disrespect? It is your brother's life she took, your older brother."

"Mom, you knew what Damien was up to and you would never face it. You have to face it now."

Deb put her hands on her son's cheeks. "Nathan, Damien was your flesh and blood no matter what. Do what you know is right."

"What? What's right, mom?"

"End this marriage so that we can avenge your brother's death properly."

"What if she's carrying your grandchild?" Nathan asked. Haley's eyes went wide when he asked this question.

She dropped her hands and looked at Haley. "The look on the girl's face says that is not possible. You haven't even slept together, have you?"

Haley's mouth dropped in surprise. Who asks that kind of a question? "Mom-" Nathan began to argue.

"Tell me, Nathan, why are you protecting a girl that doesn't even care for you? That cringes at the thought of being near you?"

"She's scared, that's all. Why wouldn't she be scared? You're attacking her, mom. You're threatening her life."

Bear came into the office and walked over to Deb. "What is it?" she asked angrily.

"Sorry for the interruption, but I thought you should know we got a couple of unexpected visitors."

"This is not finished." She said, before following Bear out into the lobby of the house.

As soon as the doors were closed, Nathan turned to Haley. "Look, you have got to make her know that this marriage is real. You have got to convince her."

"And if I don't?"

"I can't save your life a second time, Haley."

* * *

Peyton and Lucas walked over to Deb when she entered the lobby. "Why are you bothering me with this?" she asked Bear.

"They said they have some important information for Nathan. They said they'd only speak to him."

"My son is out of town." She lied.

"Look, you and I both know he's not out of town." Lucas replied. "I have something very important to tell Nathan. And trust me, he'd want to hear it."

"Why should I trust you?"

"Look, ma'am, I have some important information about your son Damien."

"What information do you have about Damien?"

"What I have to say, I have to tell Nathan."

* * *

Nathan and Haley were still talking back in the office. "This is impossible. I can't pretend that I love you, that I would have your children. There is no way I can pull that off."

"Haley, you have to."

"I couldn't do it if my life depended on it."

"This is not only for your sake, Haley. Not just your life depends on this."

"What do you mean?"

"Think about your friends, the friends that covered for you. Peyton, Julian, and don't forget Lucas."

Haley turned her back to him. "You're just trying to scare me."

Nathan grabbed her arm and turned her back around. "No one will be safe if you do not pull this off. You have got to make this look real."

Hearing the doors opening and people walking in, Nathan pulled Haley closer and kissed her.

"Haley!" Lucas said, shocked.

When she heard his voice, Haley pushed Nathan away. "Lucas, I thought you were in New York." She said, as Lucas walked to her.

"I changed my plans." He said as he hugged her. When he let go he grabbed her hands. "Thank God you're alright. Look, I told the police everything about this. Obviously these people are holding you hostage."

"Lucas, stop." Haley pleaded.

"You don't have to play this game anymore. It's ok. You don't have to pretend that you like this guy. I know you can't stand the sight of him. Come on." He said, trying to pull her toward the door.

"Wait."

"I think you'd better get out of here, Lucas." Nathan warned.

"And I think Haley is coming with me." Lucas replied.

Haley looked over to Bear, who purposefully had his gun showing. "No, I'm staying here." She told Lucas.

"Haley, come on." Lucas continued.

"Lucas, I can't. My place is here."

"What the hell does that mean?!" Peyton asked.

"You don't have to pretend anymore. The police know everything. You're gonna be safe. They know he's after us to make us pay for his brother."

"So this girl's boyfriend shows up at our house and tells us the police are involved now?" Deb asked, obviously not happy. She walked over to Nathan. "This is the trouble you caused us when you married this girl." Then she turned to Lucas. "You. You got into my home by telling me you had information about my son. Now that I know who you are and what you really want, you are not welcome here. Get out of my house!"

Lucas turned back to Haley and stared at her. "What did she just say about you and Nathan?"

"This is what I'm trying to tell you. Nathan and I are married."

"Married? No, no, no, you don't have to pretend anymore. We're getting out of here and you don't have to be afraid of these people anymore."

"I'm not afraid. I'm fine." Haley lied.

"Stop playing these games. What are you doing?" Lucas asked, getting aggravated.

"We do not play games in this family. I can assure you. We don't have time for nonsense." Deb turned and looked at Nathan. "I'm through with this. I'm leaving this up to you to get these people out of here. Now!"

With that she and Bear walked out of the room.

Lucas continued to try to get Haley to come with him. "We have to get out of here."

"No."

"Look, I don't care what happened. Whatever it is, we'll talk about it later." He tried pulling her toward the door again, but she stayed in place.

"Lucas, you can't fix this!"

Nathan finally stepped in. "Hey, if you're smart, you're gonna take Peyton and get out of here."

"Lucas, let's go." Peyton pleaded.

"Somebody's gonna get hurt if you don't disappear right now." Nathan warned.

"You don't scare me, Scott." Lucas said as he got in Nathan's face.

"I'm not trying to scare you, man. I'm trying to help you out."

"Yea right." He grabbed Haley's hand again. "Come on."

"No." Haley pleaded.

Nathan put his hand on Lucas's shoulder so that he had to step away from Haley. "She made her decision and she's staying with me. She made her choice."

"Listen to him, please. You have to leave me here." Haley said.

"I'm gonna leave _with_ you. You're gonna be safe."

"Stop it, ok!" Haley yelled. Then she walked over to Nathan and stood next to him. She put her arm around his waist and he put his arm around her. "Nathan is telling you the truth. We got married last night. I married him because I love him."

"Come here for a second." Lucas said, pointing to a spot away from Nathan. Haley followed him. "Haley, I know you. If you had these kinds of feelings for him I know you wouldn't have been able to keep that from me."

"I couldn't even admit it to myself. How was I supposed to tell you? Nathan and I realized that we wanted to be together. That's why I let him kiss me two weeks ago."

"Haley-"

"He wanted me to tell you earlier, but I wanted to wait for the right time."

"This is crazy! You told me he joined one of your classes just to upset you."

"I was lying."

"No, you're lying right now. This isn't about love. This is about fear."

"This is about love!" Haley insisted. "Nathan joined the class because he wanted to spend more time with me so that we could figure out our feelings. And now that we did, we got married."

"This is crazy, Haley! Even so, he's a gangster! This is not the type of person you want to be with."

"You can't help who you fall in love with. You just do."

"That's garbage and you know that."

"I have never been more serious. I need you to believe me."

"No. I don't care what you say. I couldn't believe you even if I tried."

Nathan walked over to them. "Times up. Get out of here, Lucas. Leave." When he didn't move, Nathan grabbed Haley's arm and pulled her away from him. She turned her back to him and he stood behind her with his mouth pressed close to her ear. "Look, if you want your precious friends to be safe, you've got to be a little more believable. I have done everything I can to protect you, but you have got step up to the plate and make him understand. Get rid of him. Get him out of here."

Suddenly Lucas angrily pulled Nathan away from her and shoved him. "Leave my husband alone!" Haley yelled. When Lucas heard her say that, he backed away. "I'm trying to make this easy. I'm trying to be nice, ok. But you're just not getting it." She took a deep breath. "You proposed to me months ago and what did I say? No. You asked me to move in with you. What did I say? No. How many different ways do you need to hear it?!"

"I don't believe this. I don't believe this at all. I mean you told me not even two days ago that you wanted to go to New York with me. You said take me with you. And you said that you loved me. I know that you weren't lying about that."

"I was trying really hard. I thought that if we went to New York that I could get the old feelings back that I had for you and give us a chance. I just…Lucas, things have never been easy for us. We've always had to do things the hard way. Maybe there's a reason for that. I didn't go looking for this thing with Nathan. I didn't expect it to happen. What I have with Nathan is so much more than I ever had with you." She said, trying to hold in the tears with the last statement.

"You don't mean that."

"I do because you were never the right man for me. My family knew it. They tried to tell me and I wouldn't listen. And I don't know, maybe the fact that they disapproved made me want to hold on longer to spite them. But I had to realize that they were right."

Lucas didn't say anything. He walked away from her and left the room. When Haley turned to watch him, Peyton's mouth was wide open. "My God, Haley." Then she followed Lucas out the doors.

As soon as the doors were closed, Haley broke down. Nathan walked over to her and put his hand on her cheek to try and comfort her. But she smacked it away. "Don't touch me! Don't ever think that you're gonna touch me again. I married you for one reason, and one reason only. To protect myself and my friends from your crazy family and that monster you call mother."

"Haley, you better start checking that attitude. It's not gonna help anything."

"Did someone call for me?" Deb asked, walking back into her office and over to them.

"No we didn't, Mrs. Scott."

"You may call me mother, dear, just as my Nathan does. And I want you to both know that I've taken care of everything. I've called Father Thomas and he wants you to come in tomorrow to talk."

"My mom wants a church wedding. She doesn't feel that the civil ceremony was enough." Nathan explained.

"Marriage is a sacrament, my dear, a holy sacrament. And of course I've arranged for both families to meet before the wedding. A church wedding won't be a problem for them, I hope." Haley only nodded, not being able to speak. "Welcome to my family, my dear."

Haley wasn't fooled by the actions that just happened. She knew that Mrs. Scott was smart and this little welcoming act was just that.

An act.


	13. Chapter 12

Later that week, Deb had booked a private banquet room at a very expensive restaurant to celebrate their marriage. Haley had been extremely reluctant to go, but Nathan had pretty much forced her to come.

The newlyweds stood together, waiting for the Deb to come back in. "You know, a church wedding might make this marriage look real, but it never will be. I don't love you."

"Yea, you made that pretty clear. But don't forget, this marriage is the only reason that you're alive." He said leaning in to kiss her. But she grabbed his chin, making him stop.

"If you call this living." She turned her back to him. She was done talking. She just wanted to get this whole night over with.

Nathan came up behind her and put his mouth close to her ear. "Haley, I know my mother. And if you don't start acting like the blushing bride I told her you were, you, your family, your friends, and your beloved Lucas are all gonna be in a lot of danger." He kissed the back of her head. She closed her eyes and shuttered. "Ok?"

Deb, Bear and the restaurant manager walked into the room. "We're very pleased to be hosting the party, Mrs. Scott." The manager said.

"This is a very important day. We're celebrating my son's recent marriage with his new in-laws."

"That's wonderful. Congratulations to you all." The manger said.

Deb walked over to the couple and stood in front of Haley. "Yes, we are all very happy. Aren't we, dear? True love has won out."

"I wouldn't be here if I weren't so much in love." She said, looking at Deb straight in the eyes.

"May I steal your bride from you for a moment, Nathan?" Deb asked. Then she grabbed Haley's arm and lead her away from him. "I hope you don't mind, I planned a very special surprise for you."

"What's that?"

"I've invited your family to share in this joy."

Haley's eyes went wide. "You invited my family?"

"Your brother, his wife, and your great uncle. I'm sorry, but your father is out of the country."

Haley turned and looked at Nathan. "They're coming here? Now?"

"I don't see how they could possibly turn this invitation down. I can't wait to meet them so that we can plan the big wedding." Deb smiled.

"I hope they approve of me." Nathan said, pulling Haley to him and placing his hands on her hips.

"I'm sure that they will." Haley answered, stepping away from him.

Bear led a man into the room and Deb smiled when she saw him. "Haley, come with me." Both Haley and Nathan followed her over to where the man was standing. "Father Thomas, it's very nice to see you."

"Deb you look wonderful." He shook Nathan's hand. "Hello Nathan. It's good to see you."

"It's good to see you, Father."

"Haley, this is Father Thomas. An old family friend." Deb said as Haley shook his hand. "He's going to be performing the marriage ceremony."

"Well, it's nice to meet you." Haley smiled.

"Congratulations. You've got yourself a good boy."

"Don't I know it." She said, leaning in Nathan.

"I'm so pleased that these two have decided to have a church wedding. I can just picture Haley flowing in her beautiful white dress, radiant as she's walking down the aisle." Deb smiled/

"Haley, why don't we have a chat." Father Thomas said, leading her to the hallway. "I'd like to get to know you better before the ceremony."

As soon as they were out of the room, Nathan turned to his mother. "Stop it, mom."

"Stop what?"

"You're provoking her. You're trying to make her feel uncomfortable."

"I'm trying to make her feel at home. That's why I invited her family."

"Well, she's not taking it that way and neither am I. You're acting like you don't trust her, mom."

"Why should I?"

"Because she is my wife."

"She doesn't love you. Stop trying to deny it. I know you think you can make her, but she's only here to save herself and her boyfriend. She's already killed one of my sons. I will not let her do it to you."

She walked away from him, but he angrily followed. "I am not gonna let you take her away from me. Haley is here, because I want her here. She belongs with me."

"You're really in love with her, aren't you? You're in love with a girl who killed your brother."

"I know the value of our family. You taught me that. But you are not going to intimidate her and I will not let you scare her off. She is my wife and you are going to honor that whether you like it or not." He kissed her cheek and walked away from her.

Deb shook her head and then walked out into the hallway where Haley and Father Thomas were talking. She saw Father Thomas walk away from her and saw an opportunity. "I'm going to make my son see you for who you really are. And when this marriage is over, I'm gonna make you pay for Damien's murder. By the time I'm through with you, death will be a blessing."

She didn't say anything else and Haley watched her walk back into the banquet room. "Thanks for the kind words, _mom_."

* * *

Haley walked back into the banquet room after her chat with Deb. Honestly, she wasn't surprised she said anything. She knew how Deb felt and she knew Deb wasn't one to hold in her feelings.

Nathan noticed the blank stare on Haley's face when she walked in and the smirk on his mother's face. He walked over to her to make sure she was ok. "Hey, what are you thinking about?"

"Nothing." She answered quickly.

"Did my mother say something to you? What'd she say?"

"She didn't say anything that I didn't already know."

"Look, I'm sorry. I'm sorry I left you alone with her. I won't do that again, ok."

"Are you kidding me? You're just as bad as she is. Locking me up, practically, in that mausoleum these past few days, forcing me to keep up with this lie."

"You can leave if you want."

"You're only saying that because you know that I can't. Because Lucas and me and Julian and Peyton would all be killed. Only you'd probably do it yourself this time."

Nathan chuckled angrily. "You know, I put my neck on the line for you. It's because of _me _that you and your friends are still alive." He said and then walked away.

"Haley!" she heard behind her. She turned and saw Jake, his wife Abby and her great uncle Whitey walking in. They walked to her and pulled her into a hug.

"Are you alright?" Jake asked when they let go.

"I'm fine."

"We've been so worried about you." Abby said.

"I know. I'm sorry I worried you."

"Where on earth have you been?" Whitey asked.

"When Nathan and I got married we were afraid of the reaction we would get from you guys so we kind of disappeared." She explained to them. "I'm really sorry I didn't tell you about the wedding. But you can come to the next one."

"It's true?" Whitey asked.

"So you really are married?" Abby asked.

"Yes, of course. Let me introduce you guys." she said, leading them over to Nathan and Deb. "This is Mrs. Scott and Nathan, my husband." She pointed. "And this is Abby, my brother Jake and my Great Uncle Whitey."

"It's a great pleasure to finally meet all of you." Nathan nervously smiled.

"Thank you for excepting this invitation and sharing in this wonderful occasion." Deb smiled.

"It was presented more as an order than an invitation." Whitey replied.

"I'm sorry. I do apologize for Bear's manners." Deb said.

"He's everything I expected." Jake said.

"I believe you've heard rumors about our family from newspapers and T.V. They always want to write stories about villains."

"Mom, you don't have to explain." Nathan said.

"Please spare us. We understand." Jake said.

"No, I think we should get this out of the way. The Scotts are not killers or criminals. We're a decent, hard-working family. We've achieved some success and so people are jealous and they make up lies." Deb said. "And as for this wedding, I was caught as off guard as you were. Right, Nathan?"

"Right." He chuckled.

"But I've already fallen in love with your lovely Haley." Deb smiled. "And I welcome you all into my family."

"Thank you." Abby finally spoke up. "I'm sorry, we're just all a little on edge right now."

"Well I think we should get along for Nathan and Haley's sake. They need their families. I only wish my other son was here."

"Mom, you don't-"

"But we have to move on past this tragedy. " Deb continued as Haley discreetly rolled her eyes. "This wedding will make us all very happy. Right, Haley?"

"I can't wait." Haley smiled.

"Good. Shall we eat?" Deb asked.

Abby smiled and walked over to the table. Whitey followed her.

Haley was about to walk to the table, but Jake grabbed her arm. "Come here." He said, leading her into the corner of the room. "Look at me. What are they doing to make you stay here?"

Haley rolled her eyes. "Jake, I…"

Jake grabbed her arm again and walked her into the hallway. "Haley, they can't force you to stay in this marriage."

"Nobody's forcing me." She argued.

"You're scared to death. I can see it in your eyes."

"Just drop it, Jake."

"This is payback for Damien's death isn't it? They're trying to intimidate you, Haley. I'm not gonna let them do that."

"No, you have it all wrong."

"I do?"

"Yes, you do. Nathan found out what happened, what his brother was doing to me and he explained it to his mother and everybody's safe. And I'm fine."

"What happened to Lucas? Explain that to me."

"I decided that Lucas was the wrong man for me like you've been saying all along."

"I want you to look me in the eyes and tell me that you're in love with this man."

"I'm fine. I'm really fine, ok."

"Haley, they're terrible people. You have no idea what you're getting yourself into."

"It's my choice. It's my marriage, ok! I think you should leave."

"You think what?"

"Go, get out of here!"

"Fine!"

"Fine!"

Jake sighed and looked at her. "I love you. You're my little sister and I know something's wrong. I know it." He said, walking away from her and back into the banquet room.

When he came into the room, he walked straight to the table where Nathan, Deb, Abby and Whitey were seated. "Come on, let's go."

"We're leaving?" Abby asked, standing up along with Whitey.

"You're leaving, Dr. James?" Deb asked.

"You know, you can dress this up all you want and be as polite as you want, but I know you. And I know how your family operates. Something's going on with my little sister. I don't know what it is, but I'm gonna get her out of here. "

"We can't always have what we want." Deb said.

"We'll see, won't we? Let's go." Jake said, leading Abby and Whitey out of the restaurant. Haley walked behind them and watched them go.

Haley held in her tears as the three of the most important people in her life walked past her and out the door.

She was about to walk back into the banquet room when a hand grabbed onto her arm. She turned to see Lucas. "Lucas, what are you doing here?! How did you get past Deb's guys?"

"I snuck in through the kitchen."

"You have to get out of here before somebody sees you."

"No. I had to see you. I have to get some answers."

"Lucas, you're risking _both_ of our lives here."

"I don't care. You still love me."

"Lucas, please."

"If you tell me that you don't love me, I will walk out that door and I will never come back." Haley began to tear up and didn't say a word. "I knew it." He smiled. Then he kissed her.

Haley didn't think about the consequences of kissing him. All she thought about was how it felt to be back in Lucas' arms. It felt so good. She missed him. She missed her life, her _real_ life.

Haley also didn't notice Deb watching the entire interaction from the side. She watched as her son's wife was kissing her ex-boyfriend and she smirked.

Haley suddenly pulled away. "No, you can't do this. You can't."

"Why not? That was a kiss of a not so happy married woman. You still love me and I love you."

Haley walked away from him and stood with her back to him. "Lucas, we can't. I'm married. I have a husband. You don't know what you're saying."

Lucas walked over and stood in front of her. He grabbed both of her hands. "Listen to me. You don't have to be afraid. Let's just walk out that door right now."

"I can't. You don't understand."

"Yes I do. I understand that you don't want to be here anymore than I want you to stay."

"No, that's not true, Lucas. We had our time together and it was wonderful and I will always hold you in my heart, but you have to get out of here. You have to leave."

Lucas held both sides of her face. "I can see it in your eyes, ok. I felt the way that you kissed me. We love each other. Now let's you and I walk out that door right now. I will protect you." Haley closed her eyes as Lucas kissed her forehead.

Nathan burst into the hallway just as Lucas kissed her. "Hey." Haley jumped back. "Get away from my wife."

"You just stay back there, ok." Lucas replied.

Nathan walked over to Lucas and shoved him. "Get the hell away from my wife."

"Lucas, he's right. You need to leave." Haley said.

"No, he's not right!" Lucas got into Nathan's face. "Look, she's not in love with you anymore. She's coming home with me." He said, grabbing her hand.

But Nathan grabbed her arm and pulled her to him. "No, she's staying here. Haley, tell him."

"Tell me what?"

"I tried to tell him, but he doesn't get. Lucas, it's over."

"What part of it's over don't you get? Get out of here, Lucas!" Nathan said.

"What kind of man do you have to be to hold your wife prisoner to get her attention?!"

"Are you deaf or are you just stupid?!"

"You're not her husband, you're her warden!"

"She made her choice. She's with me now."

"Only because you're holding something over her head. She's scared to death! Look at her!"

"Nice theory. But let me tell you a little secret, Lucas." Nathan wrapped his arms around her waist and brought Haley closer to him. "When Haley and I are alone together, you'd never know she loved you at all."

"Oh yea. Stoop to that level. You're so desperate to-"

"Whatever. We're married, you're not. She's with me, not you. Now get out of here while you still have a little bit of dignity left." He grabbed Haley's hand. "Come on."

"You're not taking her!" Lucas yelled as he grabbed Nathan's arm.

The next thing Haley knew, punches were being thrown. Nathan threw Lucas against the wall and punched him in the stomach. Lucas tried to take a swing, but Bear stepped in and grabbed Lucas' collar. "Get out of here, Roe, before you cause any more problems."

"I'm not scared of you! I'm not scared of any of you!" Lucas yelled.

"Get him out of here." Deb said. Then he grabbed Lucas' arm and walked him forcefully out the door.

Haley followed after them in tears. "Don't hurt him!" she begged.


	14. Chapter 13

"_Get him out of here." Deb said. Then he grabbed Lucas' arm and walked him forcefully out the door. _

_Haley followed after them in tears. "Don't hurt him!" she begged._

Nathan grabbed Haley's arm, turning her to him. "What are you doing?!" he asked angrily.

"Is he gonna hurt him?" Haley cried.

"Are you out of your mind?! My mother has been watching every single thing that you're doing! And she walks in there and asks me where's Haley. And then she tells me she's outside making out with her old boyfriend!" He angrily yelled.

"I was kissing him goodbye, ok." Haley cried.

"No, it is not ok!"

"It wasn't a question!" Haley fired back.

"You are alive because of me. Don't forget that. Don't ever forget that."

"How am I supposed to forget it when every single time that we talk, you throw it up in my face?! You may have me right where you want me, but don't expect any gratitude. And don't expect anything else either."

"You better watch yourself, Haley. Or everyone you love will be dead."

"You listen to me. I will pretend all you want for your mother and for your friends. I will give you the greatest show you've ever seen. But don't think, even for a second, that I'm gonna pretend with you. I love Lucas. I always will. And being married to you isn't gonna make one bit of difference!"

"This is your life now. And if you want your life to last, you're gonna make it believable. You hear me?"

"I'm trying."

"What are you worried about Lucas' feelings? Well it's a hell of a lot worse to be worried about what kind of flowers to put on his grave. My mother does not make idol threats. She takes action. Why do you think she invited your family here? To mark them, to get to know them. She is filing it away for future reference, Haley!"

"I can't believe she'd hurt my family."

"Well don't believe it. But I think I know my mother better than you do." Nathan took a breath. "Now, you're gonna put on your happy face and we're gonna get out of here, ok." He grabbed her arm. "Come on."

The two walked back into the banquet room and over to Deb. "Mom, it's been a big day and Haley is tired so we're gonna go home now."

"Thank you for the party, Mrs. Scott. It was very thoughtful." Haley forced herself to say.

"It was the least I could do for my beautiful new daughter-in-law. Come here." She smiled. Haley walked to her and Deb pulled her into hug. "Did you enjoy the boys fighting over you? Playing hard to get? Killing them once their interested?" She said in her ear. "I think Nathan is having second thoughts about this marriage. Which means very bad things for you, Haley, very bad." When she let her go, she smiled.

Nathan held out his hand and Haley reluctantly took it. "Good night, mom." He said as the two walked out the door.

* * *

Haley and Nathan were walking towards Nathan's bedroom at the Scott Mansion. Haley was still thinking about what had happened at the restaurant with Lucas. "I want you to promise me that Lucas is gonna be ok."

"Can we just lay off Lucas? I'm sure he's fine."

"Promise me."

"Fine. I promise. Now can just drop it and relax?" he asked as he opened the door to his bedroom.

"I'm tired. All I want to do is sleep." Haley said, walking through the door. She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw the bedroom. It was completely different from the way it looked yesterday. Now it was a bridal suite. There were flowers and candles everywhere. And in the middle of the room was a king size bed. "What is this?"

Nathan walked in, closing the door behind him. "What?"

Haley walked further into the room and continued to look around. "Flowers, candles, champagne? This is…"

"Want some? I do." Nathan said, taking off his jacket and opening the champagne bottle.

"This is ridiculous. When did your mother have time to turn this room into a bridal suite? Please tell me this is her idea of a joke."

"You are my wife, Haley."

"I don't know what you were thinking or hoping was gonna happen tonight, but I wouldn't sleep with you if my life depended on it."

"But it does." He said, turning to face her. "Making this marriage look real is the only thing keeping my mother from killing you and everyone you love. You know, you could be just a little bit grateful."

Haley's eyes went wide. "Grateful? Is that what this is? I'm supposed to fall into bed with you out of gratitude, give myself to you, give you flowers and a thank you note?!" she asked angrily.

"It wasn't my idea, ok."

Suddenly there was a knock on the door and Deb walked in. "I hope you like the way I had your room done up." She smiled.

"You did this?" Haley asked, playing dumb.

Deb walked over to the couple and stood in front of them. "It's a Scott family tradition. A gift from the groom's mother to her new daughter-in-law in the hope of many grandchildren. So tell me, Haley, how many children would you like to have?"

Haley's eyes went wide and her mouth dropped. She didn't answer. "Ok, not now, Mom. That's our business, not yours." Nathan spoke up.

"No, Nathan, I think it's something to think about. After all, I am the head of this family and I would like to know how many children you're going to have and how you're going to raise them."

"Nathan and I will be sure to let you know when we decide." Haley said, with a hint of annoyance in her voice.

"Fantastic." She smiled.

"Goodnight, mom." Nathan said, kissing her cheek.

As soon as Deb was gone and the door was closed Haley sighed. "Does she always boss you around like that?"

"She's the head of the family, Haley."

"I don't care what she is. Nobody butts into my personal life like that."

"Would you shut up for a minute? Haven't you got it yet, Haley? All of this is for you. Everything that I have done, I have done to keep you alive. I didn't say anything to my mother just now because I will do whatever it takes to keep you safe."

"Oh my God."

"It's not about my mother. And it's not about my brother anymore, either. It's about you…and me."

"There is no you and me, Nathan. I don't know how many ways to tell you that. Yea you saved my life from ending up at the bottom of the ocean. I'm really grateful. I am, but that's as far as it goes. I don't love you. I'm sorry. No, actually I'm not sorry. Because I can't…I can't do this anymore. I can't pretend to be this fertile little bride of yours. I'm gonna find a way to get out of here and get back to Lucas."

"Haley, there is no way out. And the sooner you accept it, the better."

"For who? You? Your mother? The family?"

"Look, you're stuck with me. Why don't you just try to make the most of it."

"You'd like that, wouldn't you?" she said, turning her back to him.

Nathan smirked. "We're connected, Haley. Come one, even when we're at each other's throats, there's something between us." Nathan walked over and stood behind her. "You know I'm right."

"The only thing I know is that you are keeping me hostage."

Nathan began massaging her shoulders and leaned in close to her ear. "Why don't you just try to relax. You might realize that I'm not so terrible after all."

"If someone starts to have feelings for their captor, it's a psychological disorder!" she said stepping away from him and turning to face him. "It's not normal. Remember Patty Hearst? We studied about her in class?"

"Forget it. I don't wanna set you off."

"I don't understand you! Are you really so desperate to be with somebody that you would go to someone that doesn't want to be with you? It's not gonna happen, Nathan. Never. This is not the beginning of wedded bliss, or a great love story, or even a one-night stand. There is nothing between us. _Nothing_. There never will be. And I am gonna find a way to get out of this marriage or whatever you want to call it and I'm gonna find a way to do it without anyone that I love getting hurt. In the meantime, this is how it's gonna be, I'm not gonna sleep with you. Not now, not ever. And while I'm trying to figure out a way to get out of here can we please find someplace away from this and your mother?!"

"Nope. Sorry." Nathan smirked. "Not until she's sure of you and your intentions. Not until she knows that you're really one of us. Besides, it's important for security, Haley. Our family has lots of enemies."

"Gee, that's comforting." Haley looked at Nathan, who was unbuttoning his shirt. "What are you doing?"

"I think it's called getting ready for bed. Unless you wanna stay up and talk some more." He said, taking off his shirt. Haley quickly tore her eyes away from his bare chest.

"No thanks. I'm sick of talking. And frankly I'm sick of you." She responded walking to the bathroom. When she got in there, she saw a short silk nightgown laid out for her to wear. "I didn't see any pajamas laid out for you." She said, from the bathroom.

"That's because I don't wear pajamas."

"What do you wear?"

"Nothing." He smirked.

Haley walked out of the bathroom and looked at him. "Not tonight." Then she walked back into the bathroom to finish getting ready.

"Touché." He muttered, taking off his pants and placing them in a chair. Then he started taking the throw pillows off the bed. He folded the comforter back and sat down on the bed and got under the comforter, waiting for Haley to get out of the bathroom.

When Haley finally emerged, she was dressed in the nightgown. She was brushing her hair and Nathan just watched her. When she turned to him, she noticed him looking at her. "What?"

Nathan held up his hands. "Nothing."

Haley rolled her eyes and walked to the opposite side of the bed that Nathan was on. She pulled her side of the comforter back and got in. She laid on her side, with her back to Nathan, getting as far away from him as possible.

Nathan turned off the lights and leaned over to her and smirked. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight." She replied, slightly annoyed.

* * *

In the morning Haley walked into Deb's office, looking for Nathan. "Nathan? Are you in here?"

Deb was sitting at her desk and looked up at Haley when she walked in. "Afraid not. It's just the two of us this morning. Coffee? Tea?"

"No thank you."

"I trust you and Nathan had a pleasant evening."

"It was everything I imagined it to be."

"Is that so?"

"Did you want details?"

"No, it's not necessary. I have a feeling I know exactly what happened in that room. Or rather, what _didn't _happen."

"You really want to prove that my marriage to your son isn't real, don't you?"

Before Deb could respond one of the maids came into the room and walked over to her. She whispered something in her ear and left. Deb looked at Haley. "It seems you have a guest."

Haley turned toward the door and saw Abby walking toward her. "Abby! You shouldn't…" Haley thought for moment and then began signing to Abby. Abby was deaf, but was able to read lips and talk. However, since Deb didn't know, she decided to use this to her advantage. The two were signing back and forth and were completely ignoring Deb.

"What do you think you're doing?" Deb asked.

Haley turned around to Deb and smiled. "Abby and I were just talking to each other. I'm sorry, you don't understand sign language, but that's how we communicate." Deb glared and shook her head. "From what I understand, you told me that this is my home too."

"It is a privilege of Nathan's wife."

"Well, where I come from privacy is generally a given and not a privilege. Do we understand each other?"

"I understand many things." She said, getting up and walking toward the door. But before she left she turned and looked at Haley. "You know, Haley, your relatives are always welcome in this house. Especially now that we're having the real wedding, the church wedding and it's right around the corner. And since Nathan is my only son now, I want to spare not expense. I mean to see that you get _exactly_ what you deserve." With a smile, she walked out the door.

As soon as the door closed, Abby looked at Haley. "Ok Haley, enough of this. What is going on?"

"Nothing. What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean. Come on, Jake is going out of his mind."

"Did my brother send you here?"

"No he did not. As a matter of fact, he doesn't know I'm here. I came on my own."

"Why?"

"Because I'm worried about you. We're all worried about you. Haley, please! Come home with me now."

"I can't, Abby."

"Listen, whatever has happened, we can fix it. I promise."

"There's not anything to be fixed. I made my commitment and this is my choice. I thought I made that very clear to you all last night."

"Yes you did, we all heard what you had to say. But…"

"But?"

"Well, it's just not like you."

"I don't know why you can't accept this."

"Accept this? Accept what? That you've suddenly fallen out of love with Lucas and in love with this Nathan person? It just doesn't make any sense."

"It makes sense to me. And if you really love me, you will help me convince Jake and Lucas that this is true."

"Haley…"

"Abby, please. This is the last thing I'm ever gonna ask of you."

"Haley, you can't ask me to do that."

"Why not?"

"Because I can't just talk Whitey and Lucas and Jake out of their love for you. It's impossible. They're concerned for you. We're all very concerned for you."

"Your concern is misplaced. I'm ok. I just need everybody to leave me alone."

"We're your family, Haley. We can't just stop caring about you."

"I don't want you to. I don't want you to stop caring about me. I just need space. Jake didn't have a problem with that before."

"That's totally different. He thought you were safe before."

"So?"

"So here, it seems to all of us that you're a prisoner."

"That is ridiculous." Haley scoffed.

"Where's Nathan?" Abby asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

"He's out, actually."

"And you didn't want to go with him?

"Come on, Abby. Just because we're newlyweds doesn't mean we have to spend every second attached at the hip. You know how it is. I'm just spending some quality time with my new mother-in-law."

"Well there doesn't seem to be any love between you two."

"No we aren't exactly the best of friends. We don't really like each other, but we're getting used to it and trying to accept each other. And that's what you guys need to do with Nathan. He's my husband."

"Haley, please."

"Abby, this is the life that I want. I swear it is."

"Haley, stop. I do not believe that. I will never believe that and neither will your family."

"Then maybe you should just not come back here." Haley said, looking at the floor.

"You don't mean that."

"I do. I do mean it. It has to be on my terms or not at all."

The door to the office opened and Deb walked in. Haley rolled her eyes. "You girls having a nice visit?" She didn't wait for them to answer. She walked into the room with a smile. "Good. Then Mrs. James will have to stay for lunch."

"No, actually she was just on her way out." Haley said grabbing Abby's hand and led her to the door. When the got out into the main foyer of the mansion Haley let go of Abby's hand. "Listen, tell Jake and Whitey I love them, ok."

"What if your father calls? What do you want me to tell him?"

"Tell him whatever you want. Tell him that I'm safe, I love him and not to worry."

Abby didn't respond. She opened the door and walked out.

Haley turned and saw Deb standing behind them. She sighed. "Ok, I know that this is your house, but we have to set some ground rules."

"Ground rules?!"

"You may run Nathan's life, but you're not gonna run mine. Not by a long shot. I know what you're trying to do."

"What I'm trying to do?"

"Yes, and it's not going to work."

"I haven't the slightest idea what you mean."

"Just so you know, Mrs. Scott, I can see through your little plan."

"My plan?"

"To break me and Nathan up, to scare me out of marrying him so that you can avenge your son's death. You wanna throw me a wedding? Be my guest. You want me to wear your wedding dress and walk down the aisle and greet the rest of the family? I can do that, I really can. You can go to the ends of the earth to protect your family and your friends, but you know what? So will I."

"Bravo. You really have some mouth on you."

"You haven't seen anything yet." Haley replied. "Looks like you're stuck with me, _mom_."

With that, she walked away; leaving a semi stunned Deb standing there.


	15. Chapter 14

When Nathan got back from where ever it was he went to, he and Haley had an incredibly awkward dinner with Deb. Deb glared at her across the table, but not saying a word. Haley just smiled at her the whole time. Nathan didn't say much either, being very confused at the behavior of his mother and his wife.

As they got ready for bed, Nathan questioned Haley about what had happened. She dismissed it saying it was the usual thing. Deb just wants her out of his life.

The next morning when Haley woke up, she stretched and noticed Nathan's side of the bed was empty. She sat up and looked around. "Nathan?"

Nathan popped his head at the bottom of the bed. "What? What's going on?" He asked, looking around.

"Nothing. What are you doing?"

"I'm trying to sleep."

"On the floor?"

"Yea, and I was doing a pretty good job at it until you woke me up to tell me that _nothing_ was going on."

"Why are you on the floor?"

"Because last night while we were both asleep I accidentally touched you and you freaked out. So I am on the floor."

"Well you were supposed to stay on your side."

"I was asleep!" Nathan exclaimed.

"Don't snap at me."

"Haley, I didn't do it on purpose. Look, I just thought it'd be better to move to the floor. You have a problem with that? Is that ok with you, Haley?"

"Fine. It's fine."

"Are you clear about what's going on, your highness?" He asked, standing up.

"Yes. Well, it looks very comfortable for you."

"You wanna trade?"

"No thank you. You're the one that got us in this mess."

Nathan rubbed his hands over his face. "To save your life, Haley."

"If you wanna call this living, me being married to someone I can't stand, go ahead."

"It beats the alternative, don't you think? My mother finding out this isn't a real marriage."

A knock at the bedroom door stopped the argument. Nathan quickly got in the bed and under comforter. "Yea?"

Deb entered the bedroom and smiled. "You two don't want to keep-" She stopped talking when she noticed the floor, which was covered with the blankets and pillows that Nathan had used last night. "What is this?"

"Mom, what the hell do you think you're doing barging into my bedroom?"

"I am not accustomed to being spoken to in this manner, Nathan."

"I'm not accustomed to having my privacy invaded. This is my bedroom. This is our bedroom. Come on."

"This is my house!"

"This is our house too and we're entitled to some privacy!"

"Stop." Haley said.

"In the eyes of the church you two are not even married yet. Which must be the reason why one of you slept on the floor, for religious beliefs. Isn't that the reason?"

"Mrs. Scott, there was like 8 layers of blankets on this bed last night and I got hot so I dumped some of them." Haley said.

"I'll make sure there are no extra blankets on the bed in the future."

Haley wrapped one of her arms around Nathan's shoulders and leaned into him. "You'll never have to worry about me letting your son sleep on the floor." She said with a smile.

"You don't want to keep Father Thomas waiting, Nathan." Deb said, leaving the room.

As soon as she closed the door Haley took her hands off of Nathan and blew out a breath. "Well I'd say you're learning." Nathan said.

Haley got out of the bed and walked to a chair and began putting on her robe. "Well great. The last thing I want to do is fit into this family."

"Come on. There are worse things."

"Worse than being trapped here? Somehow, I don't think so."

Nathan suddenly got up out of the bed angrily and walked over to her. "Under this roof family is everything. This is your family now. The sooner you get that into your thick head, the better off you're gonna be."

"You think you're the only one with family. I happen to have a very large and extended family. And I love them and I love to spend time with them."

"Haley, I am not talking about barbeques in the backyard or cozy little Christmases around the tree. I am talking about the family as the single entity in which everybody has function, including you."

"I don't even know what you're talking about! I don't even know what that's supposed to mean. But I'm telling you, I'm getting this feeling that the Scotts are like a throwback to another time and another world where blood is thicker than water rules."

"It does, Haley. It does."

"You having to avenge your brother's _accidental_ death by killing me and this ridiculous living arrangement is driving me crazy."

"Ridiculous?"

"Yes, ridiculous. You have no choice? You have to live here under your mother's roof?"

"I told you. It's a family tradition. My mother lived her entire life under her parents' roof. Why do you think my grandmother lives with us?"

"It's different. You told me your grandmother is sick. She's the reason we're having our wedding in this house instead of in a church, remember?"

"Exactly. Because the church acknowledges the importance of family, Haley. It's very important that everyone in the family, the entire family, is here to witness the ceremony, ok."

"Ok. I understand that. I'm just saying that this is no way for a young couple to live. Even if we were madly in love, it would be crazy to give into your mother. It's like living in a dictatorship, Nathan. I can't do it."

"It is not."

"It is. It's certainly not like living in a family."

"You're wrong, Haley. You're wrong." He said with a hint of anger in his voice. After taking a breath he continued. "I think you should meet my grandmother today."

"No thanks."

"Come on, she wants to meet you, she's been asking about you and she knows a lot about you. She's not doing well. She never gets out of her room. It would be good for her. And I think it would be good for you."

"No, I think I'm gonna pass."

"Fine. You better get dressed."

"Yes, we can't keep Father Thomas waiting, can we?" Haley mocked before walking into the bathroom and closing the door.

* * *

Nathan and Haley walked through the door of the church. Nathan placed a hand on Haley's back to lead her to Father Thomas' office. She walked faster, so that he would get his hand off of her back. "I'm going."

"Look, I have known Father Thomas since I was a kid. And he is very sharp. If he senses there is anything wrong with this picture-"

"Do you think that I'm an idiot? I know how to pull this off. I can't believe that you don't think I can do this."

"No, I'm just trying to remind you that this is very important."

"Look, I'm not only going to pass Pre Cana, I'm gonna ace it."

"Good."

"And I'm gonna do it while thinking about Lucas."

"Alright."

Father Thomas walked out of his office. "Nathan my boy, good to see you again."

"You too, Father." He said shaking his hand.

"And Haley, lovely seeing you again." He shook Haley's hand. "Shall we?" he asked leading them into his office. When they were all seated, he smiled at them. "You both know why you're here, for Pre Cana. Since the ceremony is going to be a Catholic one. I understand, Haley that you weren't raised as a Catholic."

"Well, that's alright. Whatever Nathan wants is what I want too."

"That's a good start. As Nathan has probably already told you, this instruction is to enforce what you two already know. The most important aspects of a marriage are communication and compatibility. I'm sure you've heard this before, right Haley?"

"Yes, sounds familiar."

"Ok then. Why don't we get started. Do either of you have any questions?"

"Not me." Nathan said, looking at Haley.

"No."

"Ok, how long have you known each other?"

"Well not long, but-" Nathan began.

"When you have an immediate connection with someone and you look in his eyes and you know that you're seeing his soul, it's like you've known each other forever."

"That's lovely, Haley. That's very well said." Father Thomas said. "Do you find that you usually agree or disagree on most subjects?"

"Haley and I, as you know, Father, come from two very different worlds, but we're learning how to respect and appreciate each other's differences."

"Background doesn't matter. It's how much you love someone and how much you're willing to fight to honor that love. No matter what." Haley added.

"And what are your thoughts about children? What about starting a family?" Father Thomas asked.

"Haley knows how important family is to me. Family is everything."

"Haley? How do you feel about your prospects of motherhood?"

"Well, I never really thought about having children until I met the man that I love."

"One of the questions we ask during this session is whether you're entering this marriage of your own free will. Is there anybody pressuring you? Because if there is, you must tell me." Father Thomas said, looking at Haley.

Nathan nervously looked at Haley. "No, Father. I'm marrying Nathan because I want to."

"Well, Haley, do you love Nathan?"

"Oh he knows how much I love him and want to be with him." Haley answered, looking knowingly at Nathan.

"You know, I took a moment to read these surveys that you left with my secretary." He said, opening a folder on his desk. "And I found these responses to be very enlightening. Particularly the way you answered the last question. What do you want from a marriage and what do you expect to bring to a marriage?" He handed one of the surveys to Haley. "Would you mind reading this?"

Haley took it and looked at the paper. It was her survey. "What I expect to bring to a marriage is a lifetime of love, support, sharing, an open mind, and an open heart_._"

Father Thomas handed Nathan the other survey. "Nathan, please."

Nathan took it and nervously chuckled. "My hope is that I can bring a marriage everything that I am, not hold anything back, and that I can share all my hopes and dreams and offer my wife complete love with no conditions. Do you really want me to read the rest of it?"

"No, that's enough to show how remarkably similar your responses are." He said, taking the surveys back. "You know, I have never had another couple in this office that had so much compatibility and that were so in sync with each other. Which is really very good news for all of us because now I can pronounce this meeting over with." He said, standing up. "And I can still make my 11:30 golf match."

Nathan and Haley both stood up and shook Father Thomas' hand. "Thank you, Father." Nathan said.

"God bless you." He said, leaving the office.

As soon as he was out of the room, Nathan let out the breath that he had been holding the entire time.

"You really surprised me." Haley said.

Nathan chuckled. "Oh yea? How so?"

"I don't know. Whatever you said in the survey. I didn't know that."

"Didn't know what? That I have a heart? That you're not the only one?"

"No, Nathan, I was just trying to tell you that-"

"That I want the same thing that you do? That I want what basically everybody wants?"

"Somebody you love to love you, I know."

"The way that you say you love Lucas."

Haley held in her tears. "Yea."

"Look, I know that you gave up a lot by doing this. I do."

"I'm just saying that I didn't realize how much you gave up until now so I'm sorry."

"Well what kind of choice did I have? It was either marry you or…"

"Kill me." Haley said, finishing his thought.

"But you're safe now and that's what matters. And I promise you that no one will touch you as long as you remain my wife, ok."

Haley let out a deep breath. "I can't do this. This is crazy. This is not fair to either of us. We're both gonna start hating each other again soon enough. There has to be another way. This cannot be it! Can we just try, at least, to find some way out of this so that we can both be happy?"

"I guess that's just another way that we're different, Haley. I understand that life isn't always gonna be perfect."

* * *

Back at the Scott Mansion, Deb was in a very good mood. Why? Because she had come up with a plan. One that she was sure would end this marriage between Haley and her son. "Haley's friend Lucas should be here any moment, Bear."

"I still don't get why you're doing this, Deb." Bear said. "Why would you ask him to come here? This kid is a punk."

"This punk happens to be in love with Haley. I saw them together at the restaurant. Not only did I see them, but I saw them in a very intimate moment sharing a kiss. And Haley was not a reluctant partner. Believe me. I'm sure she is as much in love with him as he is with her."

"What do you want me to do about it?"

"I don't need you to do anything, Bear."

* * *

When Nathan and Haley arrived back at the house, Deb greeted them. "Nathan, Haley, come with me. I want you both to meet my newest employee." She led them into her office where a man stood with his back to them. "I believe you know Lucas Roe."

Haley and Nathan both looked at him stunned. Lucas turned around and looked straight at Haley. "What's going on?" Nathan asked.

"It's official." Deb answered.

"What's official, mom?" Nathan stared at Lucas.

"As of today, Mr. Lucas Roe will be working for the family. We haven't ironed out all the details yet, but the point is, I know how Haley gets lonely when you leave the house, Nathan and I wanted so much for my daughter-in-law to be comfortable."

"So you hired Lucas?!" Nathan asked, angry.

"Yes. Haley's friend." Deb smiled.

"What on earth could you be thinking, mom?"

"As you know, Nathan, there is plenty of work to do in this family. Especially now with the loss of your older brother." Nathan was glaring at his mother. "Why are you looking at me like that? I was just trying to help out your wife."

"Mom-"

"I don't think so." Haley spoke up. "In fact, since this is my house too now, I think I have a say. I say no. I don't want Lucas working here. It's understandable for a new bride not to want her old boyfriend down the hall. Wouldn't you agree, Mrs. Scott?"

"Well, I didn't think of him as an old boyfriend, Haley. I thought of him as an old friend. And now you've placed me in a very awkward position."

"Mom, you-"

"Nathan, I have already made the offer."

"And I've already accepted." Lucas spoke up.

"You see, Mr. Roe has accepted. I can't very well go back on my word."

"Mom, listen-"

"No, you listen. I've taught you better than that. You know how important a person's word is, especially in this family."

"Nathan, please do something." Haley whispered to him.

"We need to talk, alone." Nathan said, to his mother.

"Nathan-"

"Now! Mom, it's time you learn that Haley and I have some of our own rules as well."

Then he led her out of the office into the hallway and closed the office doors behind them.

"Nathan, you seem to have forgotten something that you have always known. _I_ am the boss."

"And I am your son. This is unacceptable, mom. And I will not allow it."

"Let me explain something to you. Even though that young woman in there is responsible for the loss of my son, your older brother, I have chosen not to seek retribution. And do you wanna know why?"

"It's because I married her. And you and I both know that you cannot kill a member of the family. That is why."

"Yes, you do remember some of the principles you were raised with. But if you decide to end this marriage because you cannot tolerate the fact that your wife is still in love with somebody else-"

"Look, I know that you are hoping to prove that so you can kill her _only_ to avenge Damien's death."

"This is what we do. It should be just as important to you as it is to me to honor the memory of your brother."

"Killing Haley is not the answer." Nathan said forcefully.

"The feelings you have for this young woman, they sadden me."

"Why? You claim that you want me to be happy."

"I don't think she can make you happy. In fact, after everything that you've done for her, I believe she will only end up breaking your heart."

"Well, you're wrong, mom."

"If you're so sure about this, why don't you want Lucas Roe in this house? If you're right about your wife and you think you can turn this around and turn it into a real marriage, then Lucas Roe should be no problem."


	16. Chapter 15

_"As of today, Mr. Lucas Roe will be working for the family. We haven't ironed out all the details yet, but the point is, I know how Haley gets lonely when you leave the house, Nathan and I wanted so much for my daughter-in-law to be comfortable."_

_"So you hired Lucas?!" Nathan asked, angry._

_"Yes. Haley's friend." Deb smiled._

_"What on earth could you be thinking, mom?"_

_"As you know, Nathan, there is plenty of work to do in this family. Especially now with the loss of your older brother." Nathan was glaring at his mother. "Why are you looking at me like that? I was just trying to help out your wife."_

_"Mom-"_

_"I don't think so." Haley spoke up. "In fact, since this is my house too now, I think I have a say. I say no. I don't want Lucas working here. It's understandable for a new bride not to want her old boyfriend down the hall. Wouldn't you agree, Mrs. Scott?" _

_"Well, I didn't think of him as an old boyfriend, Haley. I thought of him as an old friend. And now you've placed me in a very awkward position."_

_"Mom, you-"_

_"Nathan, I have already made the offer."_

_"And I've already accepted." Lucas spoke up._

_"You see, Mr. Roe has accepted. I can't very well go back on my word."_

_"Mom, listen-"_

_"No, you listen. I've taught you better than that. You know how important a person's word is, especially in this family."_

_"Nathan, please do something." Haley whispered to him._

_"We need to talk, alone." Nathan said, to his mother. _

_"Nathan-"_

_"Now! Mom, it's time you learn that Haley and I have some of our own rules as well."_

_Then he led her out of the office into the hallway and closed the office doors behind them._

* * *

Haley looked at Lucas. "Lucas, please. You cannot be here. You have to forget about me."

"Haley-"

"No, listen to me. How many times do I have to tell you? I married Nathan because I wanted to!"

"You are the worst liar. You always have been. You're just lying."

"No, I'm not."

"Yes, you are. Listen to me. Me being here is gonna give me a chance to get you out of here."

Nathan and Deb walked back in the room and Lucas stepped away from Haley. "Lucas, why don't I give you a tour of the house?" Deb said.

"Maybe later."

"Now would be best." Deb smiled. "We wanna leave the newlyweds alone. Shall we?" she said, leading him out of the room for the tour.

As soon as they were gone, Haley turned to look at Nathan. "What just happened with your mother out there?! I thought you were gonna convince her not to hire Lucas!"

"She won't budge. But that's ok. We're just gonna have to use Lucas if you want to stay alive. So my mother obviously thinks I married you to save you and she's trying to turn me against you."

"So?!"

"So we get divorced and she kills you! You better check this attitude of yours, Haley. I'm not gonna be able to help you anymore."

"I'm not trying to give you attitude!"

'Then don't. Don't."

Haley held up her hands, in surrender. "So what are you saying about Lucas living here?"

"She obviously thinks that he can tear us apart and that sooner or later you're gonna give into your feelings for Lucas and…That's alright. You're just gonna have to do the opposite. You're gonna have to show my mother that no matter how much Lucas is breathing down your neck, you're over him."

"I can't. That is too hard."

"I don't care! You're gonna have to find a way if you want you and your friends to stay alive."

"And how long am I supposed to do this?"

"I don't know. In the meantime, I'll just try to get him fired and out of here, out of this house." He said, noticing that Lucas and his mother had re-entered the room. "So, mom, did you give Lucas the grand tour?"

"Yes, I rather enjoyed it. I think I'm gonna enjoy my time here." Lucas said.

"Haley, the printer dropped off some samples of the invitations." Deb said.

"Invitations for?"

"The invitations for your wedding, of course." Deb smiled. "We should pick something wonderful, something that reflects your relationship with Nathan, how you fell in love, something wonderful and passionate coming out of tragedy. It's very romantic."

"Yes, that's fine." She responded.

"Shall we?" Deb said, leading Haley out of the room.

Nathan and Lucas stood together in the room awkwardly, staring at each other. Nathan walked up to Lucas and smirked. "You've really done it now, haven't you? You're right in the middle of something you can't begin to handle."

"Oh, I can handle it."

"Well, that just shows you are in over your head."

"For a little while. But I'm coming in and I'm going out. And when I leave, Haley's gonna come with me."

"You think so?"

"You can count on it." Lucas walked away.

* * *

Haley and Nathan walked into their bedroom, still reeling from the events that had happened earlier. "I picked out invitations. They're white with little yellow flowers or something. I don't know. They're pretty, actually. She has really good taste in wedding invitations."

"Wow, Haley. I sure hope you didn't have that attitude when you were with my mother. Especially if Romeo was lurking around somewhere."

"Well, I don't know any other way that I can tell Lucas that I don't love him anymore. I mean I married you, didn't I?"

"Look, we're gonna have to make Lucas realize that this marriage is real in every sense of the word. We're gonna have to make him believe that we are really in love."

"What exactly are you saying?"

"I think I know how we can do it."

"Are you telling me that you want Lucas to find us in bed for _real_?" Haley asked, getting upset.

"I don't know, Haley. I don't think there's any other way."

Haley stared blankly at him and then walked over and sat on the bed. "I can't even think…I can't sleep with somebody I'm not in love with. I waited to make love until I fell in love. And that was with Lucas. And it meant everything to me."

Nathan walked to the bed and sat on it directly behind her. He slowly brought his hand up to her arm to comfort her. When she didn't move away, he started rubbing her arm. "Come on, Hales. Don't cry."

Haley noticed that was the first time he had ever called her that. "I'm trying to hold on and everything is falling apart!"

"It'll get better. I promise."

Haley turned around on the bed to face him. "How? How can you promise me that? Everything I say, everything I do I'm afraid is gonna be wrong. It's making me sick."

"Nothing is gonna happen to you. I swear. I'll figure out a way to make this work. But you're gonna have to trust me, ok. Do you think you can trust me, Haley?"

"When we were talking with Father Thomas, I realized that we want the same things out of life."

"Yea, like everybody does."

"I know. I just…"

"What? You never thought that _I _would want those things?"

"Yea. When we were at Father Thomas' office, I saw somebody that I actually liked. And I realized that we're not so different. We have similar dreams."

"Yea, they're the same."

"We deserve to have our dreams come true, Nathan."

"I know. Of course we do."

"So maybe we can really make this work out?"

"We can, but not if we quit. If we do this right, we can have everything we want by working together. Not fighting with each other. But trusting each other. Right?"

Nathan brought his hand up to her face and put his fingers in her hair. "No!" Haley pushed his hand away and stood up.

"What?"

"You know, we might have to share a bed to make this marriage look real, but you damn well better stay on your side of it. I thought you understood what I was saying."

"So did I."

"But nothing's changed! I'm not your wife, I'm your prisoner!"

"You know, that works both ways, Haley. Do I look free to you?"

"This is your house! Deb is your mother! She will do anything for you."

Nathan stood up. "Come on, I am trapped in this. Just like you are."

"It's not the same."

"You know, Haley, if you would stop thinking about yourself for two minutes, you might see that you're not the only unhappy person in this room. To keep you alive, we are stuck with each other. And if you wanna stay alive, we gotta convince my mother and Lucas that we're some sort of happy couple. And if that means making Lucas see us in bed together, then that's what we're gonna do!"

"I can make this look real and I can give you a great performance, but if you think for one second that I am actually going to sleep with you-"

"No, no, no. You're a lousy liar. Lucas knows it, I know it, my mother's already suspicious."

"Yea, no kidding."

"It's gonna take a lot more than a performance, Haley."

"Can't you take no for an answer?! You may look different and you may act different, but in your heart you are exactly the same as your brother!"

"You're comparing me to my brother? How's that, Haley?"

"Think about it."

"No, _you_ think about it. If I were anything like my brother, we wouldn't be having this conversation right now. You'd be dead. Damien wouldn't think twice about killing you."

"I'm not calling you a murder."

"This is a lousy situation. Do we both agree on that?"

"Yes."

"I'm trying to do the best I can to make this work out and I'm sick and tired of doing all the work!"

"Well I'm here, aren't I?!"

"I don't know where you are. I am trying to help you and you just keep screwing everything up."

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm sick of talking." Nathan grabbed magazines off the table and threw them on the bed. "Here."

"Here what?"

"Wedding information, courtesy of my mother."

"Great." She said as she sat down on the bed.

"Yea. It's great. It's more than great, Haley. It's what's gonna keep you and your friends and everyone you love alive. A big wedding with hundreds of people. Come on, Haley. Pick yourself out a wedding dress. The sky's the limit."

"You pick it out! I don't give a damn!" She yelled throwing the magazines.

"Think about it this way, Haley. You're not losing a boyfriend, you're gaining sixty more years to your life. Why don't you think about that when we dance at our wedding? Maybe that'll put a smile on your face."

"That is so cruel."

Nathan began picking up the magazines that Haley had thrown off the floor. "No. You don't know what's cruel, Haley. Not yet." He handed her the magazines and kneeled on the floor so that he could be at eye level. "If it makes you feel any better, I have sacrificed a lot for you. And I'm just as unhappy to be in this as you are."

"So you keep saying. Maybe you should have killed me."

"Would you like that? Because if you go, Lucas is next. And my mother won't stop there. She'll arrange little accidents for everybody you love."

"Why would she punish them?!"

"Because her first born son is dead, Haley! She wants revenge and she's gonna get it anyway she wants." Nathan stood up and leaned over, getting close to her face. "So if you don't want that to happen, you're gonna go through with this marriage. And you're gonna look like the happiest bride to ever walk down the aisle."

Nathan grabbed Haley's cheeks with one hand. "And when I say my vows to you, you're gonna look up at me adoringly. And when the priest says you may kiss the bride, " Nathan kissed Haley. She gasped and swatted his hand away. "you're not gonna cringe! We may both wanna be a million miles from here, but we're gonna go through with it. See, that's the big difference between us. I stick to things. I see things through." Nathan stood up and began putting his jacket on. "I don't just mourn for what's over and make everybody's life miserable."

"Where are you going?" she asked, noticing him heading for the door.

"I have a little business that I should've taken care of a long time ago. Let's go! Get this wedding in gear."

When Nathan was out the door, Haley yelled and threw the magazines across the room. She had never been this angry before in her life.

In the hallway, Nathan was trying to get a hold of his anger and frustration. "You can't let her get to you. You can't."

* * *

Haley was pacing the bedroom when she heard a knock. She wiped the tears that had been falling. "Yea?'' The door opened and Peyton walked in. "Peyton, what are you doing here?"

"What is up with the security guards outside?" she joked. "I had to tap dance to get in. And I mean, I really had to tap dance." Haley just stared at her. "It was a joke, Haley. You don't have to crack up laughing, but you could crack a smile."

"It's a little difficult with you running off at the mouth like that."

"Now there's the old bright and bubbly Haley we all know and love." Peyton said, sitting down. "Nice place. Maybe a little over the top."

"What did you come here for, Peyton?"

"I came here to see if you have any more brains than your boyfriend. He's actually working here now just to be close to you. Why doesn't he just paint a target on the back of his head and get it over with?"

"Why don't you just turn around and tap dance right out of here."

"Nah, I don't feel like facing your big goons yet."

"Well, you're sure as hell not gonna stay here taking shots at me and Lucas."

"Who the hell is taking shots, Haley? All I said was-"

"I heard what you said, I know what you mean and I know what you're probably plotting behind my back!"

"You know what, now you're getting a little too paranoid, Haley."

"Don't you forget how lucky you are that I didn't tell the whole truth about Damien's death because if I had, you would've gotten a visit from mama Deb a long time ago."

Peyton stood up and faced Haley. "And that's supposed to make what you're doing ok?"

"It's supposed to make you grateful. This wasn't my idea, Peyton. You think this is my idea? I tried to get Lucas to back off."

"Obviously not hard enough, not nearly hard enough. And why would that be?"

"Get out, Peyton!"

"Because you're trying to keep Lucas! That's just not gonna work, Haley. You can't marry Nathan to save your life and hang onto Lucas at the same time."

"The last thing I'm trying to do is hang onto Lucas."

"You know what? You can say until you're blue in the face that you don't want him to work here, but we both know the truth."

"I told you the truth."

"You know, Haley, I hope you're not hoping for a grand rescue because that is not gonna happen. The only thing that's gonna happen is Lucas is gonna get tangled up with some really bad people. All because of his love for you."

"Where are you going with this, Peyton?"

"I want you to think. I want you to stop being selfish and think about Lucas. And what is gonna happen to him if you don't convince him that you are through."

"Yea, Nathan told me the same thing. In fact, he suggested that we sleep together and have Lucas walk in on us." Haley was trying to hold the tears back as she talked.

"I think that's a hell of an idea, Haley."

"Yea, it's hell alright."

"That would just solve everything. Yes, you have to do that."

"Are you out of your mind?" Haley asked.

"Well, you come up with a better idea and we'll all go home."

"You'd really like that, wouldn't you?"

"What?"

"If Nathan and I slept together. I mean you can see it now. You in the passenger seat of Lucas' car, riding off into the sunset!"

"And so what if I could, Haley? What is it to you? I mean, you're married."

Haley glared at her. "And you're a backstabber."

"Why? Because I go after what I want? I mean, what do you want me to do, Haley? You want me to stand on the sidelines and watch everyone else have their fun and just hope that someone is out there somewhere? To hell with that. Because I'm not hard to notice, Haley. And I'm gonna make damn sure that I am. By Lucas. You know, he could do worse and so could you."

"Nathan?"

"Yea. Your husband."

"Ok, one more time. Are you nuts?"

"I don't think so." Peyton smiled. "I mean, you said yourself that he had some really good points. And he's not that hard to look at either."

"I can't believe…Do you know who he is?! He's a gangster. His family kills people, Peyton."

"Do you love Lucas?"

"You know that I do."

"Then you wanna save his life. And the only way you can do that is by convincing him that you don't love him. And the only way you can do that is by breaking his heart completely. He would do this for you. In fact, he did."

"Excuse me?"

"Lucas wasn't planning on coming back from New York. When he kissed you goodbye, it was supposed to be forever. He was gonna disappear."

"Why?!"

"Because he wanted Nathan and his family to believe that he killed Damien so that they'd leave you alone. He did it to save _your_ life. Now you have to return the favor. What you and Lucas had is over. It died when Damien died. If you really wanted to save Lucas you'd do this. You might hate yourself for it, but you'd do it."

Haley took a deep breath. "Ok, alright. If it's the _only_ way that I can convince Lucas that I don't love him anymore, then I'll do it. I'll sleep with Nathan."

* * *

Lucas was having lunch in his house when there was knock at the door. He got up and opened the door. Nathan walked right in. "What do you think you're doing?" Lucas asked.

"Sit down." Nathan pointed to the couch.

"Sit down? This is my house."

"We've got a situation we need to resolve, you and me."

"What situation?"

"Quit working for my mother."

"Quit working for your mother? I haven't even started. She's got all these plans-"

"Look, I'll take care of my mother. You gotta stay away from Haley. You understand?"

Lucas walked over and stood in front of Nathan. "What am I doing to Haley?"

"You're torturing her, Lucas. She's a mess."

"Why would you care?"

"If I didn't care, I wouldn't be here."

"Look, I'm not leaving Haley's side. Not even if it means working for people like your family."

"You know my mother is using you, right? You're not protecting Haley. You're only endangering her."

"So why are you holding Haley prisoner? You think you're gonna get revenge for Damien's murder?"

"I would never hurt Haley! I would never let anyone touch her, ever!"

"Well, well, well. I see what's going on here."


	17. Chapter 16

**Things are beginning to heat up :) So will they or won't they? We'll find out.**

* * *

Peyton and Haley were still talking back at the Scott Mansion. Haley was pacing, trying to come up with another way. "There has to be another way. What if I invite him to the wedding and he could see me in the dress and the flowers-"

"Haley, you can't do that. You know that. Nathan, his thugs, his relatives, Lucas will think he's forcing you."

"Well then you tell me what I'm supposed to do."

"You know what you're supposed to do. You get Lucas to find the two of you in bed. Case closed."

"And how am I supposed to do that? Do I send him an invitation? Excuse me, Lucas, Nathan and I are about to have sex, wondering if you'd like to watch?!"

"I don't think that's gonna work, Haley." Peyton said sarcastically.

"You know, it doesn't matter anyway because if Lucas did walk in on us, he would think Nathan was forcing himself on me and then somebody would get killed."

"Not if you make it convincing enough."

"Maybe you'd like to define convincing, Peyton."

Suddenly there was a knock at the door. "Haley?" Lucas' voice said.

Haley's eyes went wide.

"You gotta get rid of him, Haley."

"I know." She said, walking to the bedroom door.

"Lucas can't know I'm here." Peyton said, before walking into the bathroom to hide.

"Lucas, you have to get out of here!" Haley said to the door.

"Haley, I have to talk to you."

"This is a really bad time. Can you please go?"

"Haley, come on. Open the door. I need to talk to you."

"No!"

"Haley, come on. Don't make me kick this door in."

"I think it's better if you spend time away from me." The door flew open a second later. And Lucas walked in. "Lucas! What are you doing?!"

"Haley, I know that you're scared-"

"No I'm not!"

"I know you are and I want to know why. What's going on around here, Haley? I mean, what are they gonna do to you if you leave Nathan?"

"Nothing! I'm here because I want to be."

"I know you, Haley. I know you're trying to handle this all on your own, but I'm gonna help you."

"No! You need to stop making this harder than it should be, ok. I loved you once, but it's over. I broke up with you."

"Haley, this is bull!"

"It's not! I need you to back off and leave me alone, Lucas."

"Haley, this isn't a game anymore, ok. This isn't even about the family business. This is about Nathan. He's really falling in love with you. He came over to my house and threatened me if I didn't stay away from you."

"Why would he do that?"

"Because he knows that what we have is so strong and he's scared."

"No. Nathan would never do anything like that." She said, walking away from him. But Lucas was right behind her.

"He did, Haley. He said he would never let anyone touch you." Haley turned to look at him. "And I know what was going on in his head. I'm not gonna let this go on, Haley."

"Nothing is going on." Haley said quietly.

"Listen to me. I will do anything for you. I don't care how dangerous it is." Lucas sighed and then grabbed Haley's hand. "You told me that I was the only one that matters and that we'd love each other forever. Do you remember?"

"That was a long time ago. We were kids." Haley said, taking her hand out of his.

"We weren't kids. We're the same kids that we are now."

"No, everything has changed!"

"Nothing has changed, Haley. What's changed? The way you kissed me at that restaurant…nothing's changed. You nothing is gonna change."

Lucas leaned in and kissed her. And she kissed back. She was caught up in the moment, but suddenly snapped out of it. She pushed him away. "No, Lucas. You have to go." She walked away from him. "I need to leave here. I _want_ you to leave here."

"You don't want me to leave."

"Yes, I do. What if somebody catches us? You're gonna ruin everything I have with Nathan."

"What do you have with him?! You have nothing with him!"

"Yes, I do."

"Look, Haley, I feel it. It's still there between us. You wanted to kiss me. You're just afraid."

"Ok, I'm asking you out of respect for our past…go. If you ever loved me, just walk out the door."

"I still love you and if that's what you want…"

"That's what I want."

"Fine. I found out what I needed to know."

Lucas headed toward the door and turned to look at her one more time, before walking out the door.

When he closed the door, Peyton walked out of the bathroom and sat down in a chair. "You let him kiss you, Haley. Now he thinks you two are soul mates again, you're gonna live a life happily ever after."

"How do I do this? How am I supposed to do this?"

"You know what you're supposed to do! You have to betray him. You have to do something so terrible that everything you had with him doesn't mean anything."

"Because I love Nathan."

"That's right."

Haley breathed in heavily and thought for a second. "I have an idea. It's gonna be the hardest thing I've ever had to do. But it's the only way."

* * *

Nathan walked into the church and headed for the confessional. He needed to get some things off his chest.

He sat down, pulled the curtain to show that someone was in there and waited for Father Thomas to get into the other side. When he opened the small window, Nathan began talking. "Father, I'm in a situation, a complicated situation. It involves my wife. Father, in order to save her life, I have to get someone out of the way."

"There must be a better way."

"No, Father. I'm obligated to her. And my family is looking for a way to make her pay for killing my brother. It was an accident, self defense, but you know my family and that doesn't matter."

"Yes, Nathan, I know your family. But I also know you."

"I have to protect her. I can't let anything happen to her. I don't have a choice."

"There is always a choice. Pray for it, Nathan. Promise me that you won't do anything until you come back. You must find another way."

"I'll think on it, Father. But please say a prayer of forgiveness for me."

"I can't absolve you for something you haven't done, something I hope to God you'll never do, but I will say a prayer for you."

"Thank you, Father." Nathan took a deep breath and was about to leave.

"Nathan? If you give into your fears your soul will be in mortal danger. Please, you must not do this."

"I'll try." Nathan said. Then he stood up and left the confessional. His cell phone rang as he was about to leave the church. "Yea?"

"_Nathan, I'm glad I got you_." Haley's voice said.

"Look, I can't talk right now."

"_Wait, wait. Don't hang up. It's about Lucas."_

"What about him?"

"_I know he can't be in our lives. So I found a way to get him out and keep him there forever."_

"How?"

"_Meet me at the little cottage on the outskirts of town and I'll tell you everything when you get there_."

"Ok." He said, hanging up. Nathan looked up and sighed. "Thank you."

* * *

Haley walked up the sidewalk of the cottage where she had told Nathan to meet her. This was a cottage owned by her father. He bought it for her mother when she was still alive. It was a gift for one of their anniversaries and a place her mother loved to come to. She would spend weekends there just being alone and thinking. As Haley got older, she found she enjoyed this cottage as much as her mother.

It had become even more special after her mother died. It was like Haley had a little piece of her mom still with her whenever she stayed here. It was also special because this was the place where she and Lucas first slept together. It was _their_ place.

Haley took a deep breath as she unlocked the door and stepped inside. It was the same as her mother left it. Haley hadn't moved anything. It was very small cottage with a small kitchen, small living room and bedroom all connected in one big room. It wasn't the best for privacy, but that was the point on this particular occasion.

Haley began placing candles that she had brought in a bag with her. She placed all around the room. When she turned toward the bed she stopped. She dropped the bag on the ground and sat down on it. She didn't want to do this here, but she had to. She had to protect Lucas. He did it for her. He was gonna leave and never come back. She had to do this for him now.

"Nice place." She heard Nathan say.

She turned and saw him standing behind her. "Yea."

She stood up and Nathan walked toward her. "I was pulling up when you walked in. So?"

"What?"

"Why are we here? What was your plan?"

"This place…this is where Lucas and I first made love. And we made promises to each other."

"Ok, so what are we doing here, Haley? Are we taking a trip down memory lane?"

"No. This is where it has to be."

"What?"

"If I want to convince Lucas that I don't love him anymore, then he has to find us here…in bed."

The phone in the cottage rang and Haley walked over to answer it. "Hello?"

"_He's on his way_." Peyton said.

"Ok, we'll be ready." She hung up the phone and turned to Nathan. "He's on his way over."

"You know, Haley, it's one thing to say you're gonna do this. It is another thing entirely to go through with it. Can you? Can you go through with this?"

Haley walked to Nathan. They were inches apart and holding each other's gazes. Haley put her hands on his chest, leaned in and kissed him.

Nathan was stunned at first. Once he realized what was going on, he brought his hand up to her cheek and deepened the kiss. He began running his fingers through her hair when she pulled away and stepped back. "Does that answer your question?"

* * *

Nathan watched Haley begin lighting candles. If he was honest with himself, he was really nervous. Not only for himself, but Haley. He knew what this would do to her relationship with Lucas, but it had to be done.

Nathan was also excited. He had been attracted to Haley the moment he saw her. The way she didn't take crap from anyone, including his mother was just about the sexiest thing he'd ever seen in a woman. She was unlike anyone he had ever dated, but he still wanted her. He wanted her more than anyone in his entire life.

Nathan walked over to the wall and turned down the lights. "Is that ok?"

"Fine."

"Ok. He's gonna be here soon, so we better…"

"Yea."

Haley didn't know what to do and neither did Nathan. Haley walked toward the bed and pulled back the comforter. Nathan began taking off his clothes.

He took off his jacket and shirt and Haley turned around. She just stared at him. "What? We're gonna do this, right?"

"Yea." She said, as she slowly undid the buttons on her blouse.

The two continued to undress. Nathan was left in his boxers and Haley in a silky lingerie nightgown that reached just above her knees. He had to control his breathing when he saw her. Nathan watched her as she climbed in the bed. He followed and sat down next to her. Nathan leaned in close to her and smiled. "Do you know how beautiful you are?" Nathan leaned in a kissed her. He brought one hand up and ran his knuckles across her cheek.

Hearing a noise outside and knowing it was Lucas, Nathan pulled away. "Come on, we have to do this." He began pulling on the bottom of her nightgown, so that she would only be left in her underwear.

"No, stop. I can't do it." Haley suddenly said, pushing his hands away.

"Haley."

Haley reached down beside the bed for Nathan's jacket and put it on. "I can't. I was crazy to think that I could break Lucas' heart like this."

"Well, it sure beats the bullet, don't you think?"

"I don't think you mean that. I know you're not like the rest of your family, Nathan."

Nathan ran his hand over his face. "Haley, I didn't say that I'd be the one to do it. We need to get him out of the way and you said this would do the trick. So come on."

"Haley? Are you in there?" they heard Lucas' voice say on the other side of the door.

Nathan grabbed Haley's head and forced her to look at him. "There are two lives at stake, Lucas' and yours." He tried to take off the jacket.

"Haley, it's me Lucas. Open up." Lucas yelled from outside the door.

"No, there has to be another way." Haley said, quickly getting out of the bed and running over to the door. "Lucas, don't come in here!"

"Haley, what's going on? Let me in."

"I don't want to see you."

Lucas turned the knob and slightly pushed the door open. The only thing stopping it from opening all the way was Haley standing there pushing in the opposite direction. "Haley?"

"Go away."

"Haley, come on. Let me in."

"Go, please." She pleaded.

"Haley, come on. This is our place. You know you wanted me to come here."

"No, I want you to go. What we had is in the past. Please, you're gonna ruin everything!"

"I'm not gonna ruin anything."

"You're gonna ruin the memories that we had. Trust me. Go away."

"I'm not doing this anymore, Haley. I love you." Lucas pushed harder, opening the door fully. "Let me in, Haley."

"No!"

Lucas walked in and saw Nathan sitting in the bed. He looked at Haley, with more hurt in his eyes than Haley had ever seen. "Why?"

"You know how much I love this place. I wanted to share it with my husband."

"You can't be serious, Haley. This is our place! How could you do this after everything we've been through here?!"

"I'm really sorry you had to see this, but you have to understand. I'm with Nathan. I love him. I love this place. Nathan's my husband. He's my family. My family's owned this place for years and now that he's part of mine, I wanted to share it with him. I'm sorry. If I had known you were going to be here I would have brought him at a different time so that we wouldn't have been interrupted."

"I don't believe-I this some kind of a set up?" He asked, looking at Nathan.

"No. This is real." Haley answered. "I love him. I keep trying to tell you that, but you don't seem to get it." Haley opened up Nathan's jacket, showing him what she was wearing. "Lucas, look. Open your eyes. We're finished. We're over. In need you to listen to me. I need you to _hear_ what I'm telling you, ok." Haley began tearing up. "You need to stop bothering me. You need go away and leave me alone. Lucas, it's over."

"That's what you really want?"

"Yes." She said, pulling Nathan's jacket back on. "That's what I really want."

" Fine. I won't bother you again."

Haley watched Lucas turn and walk out the door. When the door was closed, Haley slumped to the ground next to the bed and sobbed.


	18. Chapter 17

Nathan sat there watching her, not knowing what to do. Eventually she calmed down and was staring off into space. "Haley, are you ok?"

"How can you ask me that? Did you see the look on his face?"

"You did what you had to do. Lucas won't be a threat to your safety anymore."

"My safety? Do you think I care about my safety? Do you think I care about my happiness or anything else in my life? Nothing matters. I just broke Lucas' heart."

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry it had to be this way. What can I do?"

"I think you've done enough already."

"Haley, I know how much this cost you."

"You have no idea."

"If you could just stop seeing me as your enemy and let me try to make you feel better."

"The way a man makes a woman feel better? The way a husband makes a wife feel better? You have some nerve. Don't you get it? Lucas is gone. He's never coming back." Haley stood up next to the bed. "Ok, show's over. Put your clothes back on. And you know what? Stay the hell away from me."

Nathan grabbed her arm, forcing her to sit down on the bed. "Don't ever talk to me like that again."

"Why, because I'm your wife?"

"Yea. Because you are my wife, Haley."

"Well, before you beat me with a club and drag me off to a cave, why don't you clear something up for me."

"What's that?" Nathan asked, annoyed.

"What happens now? Lucas is gone. He's not coming back."

"Yea, what do you mean?"

"So tonight, today, tomorrow, the next day, the day after that? Where do we go from here?"

"We're having the wedding. Just like we planned."

"And then what?"

"What?"

"Am I supposed to fall in love with you? Am I supposed to learn to love you?"

"Look, I don't care one way or another, ok." Nathan said, agitated. He didn't want to talk about this anymore.

"Liar. Lucas told me how you feel about me, Nathan. And this marriage is not about saving me or protecting anybody else. This is about you. You wanting something that you are _never_ going to have."

Haley suddenly stood up and began getting dressed. Nathan followed. "You know, if you spend all your time trying to get away from me and my family, you're just gonna make your life a living hell."

"No, that's your job. I didn't ask to be married to somebody that I barely knew."

"Oh, you'd rather be dead?"

"Yea, after what I just did to Lucas, yes I would rather be dead."

"You're acting like a spoiled brat, Haley."

"Fine then, divorce me."

Nathan took a deep breath. "Look, I didn't want my life to end up like this either. But I'm trying my best to make this work."

"How can this possibly work?! I don't love you. I don't love _you_! I never will."

"Never say never, Haley. My great-grandparents had an arranged marriage."

"And what? They lived happily ever after?"

"As a matter of fact, they did."

"Good for them!"

"No, good for us! If my great-grandparents never laid eyes on each other before they were married and they ended up happy, then maybe we can too."

"So if it's good enough for your great-grandparents then it's good enough for us? Is that another guide in the Scott Family Guide to Living? If you don't kill the girl, marry her. Maybe then she'll love you."

"Maybe if you stopped fighting me enough to give it a chance, yea." Nathan grabbed his jacket, pulled it off of Haley and put it on.

"I have news for you. We're living in the 21st century. We're in Tree Hill, not some third world country and I don't have to love you. If you were the last man on earth, I still wouldn't love you. This is you wanting me to feel something for you, the way you feel about me."

Nathan walked over and stood right in front of her. He leaned over and got very close to her. "You don't know how if feel." Nathan stepped away and walked to the door. "Anyway, our feelings don't matter."

"They matter to me because I had something. I had a love that was so strong and more meaningful than you could even fathom. And what I just had to do was the hardest thing I have ever had to do in my entire life."

"Lucas is a big boy. He'll get over it."

"And maybe he will. And maybe he'll go to Peyton. I just handed him to her on a silver platter."

"Well, at least he's safe now. That is what you wanted, Haley."

"You know what? I wish I never met your brother because none of this would've happened if I hadn't. I would be happy."

"No, Haley. If you hadn't _killed_ my brother, none of this would've happened." Nathan ran his hands over his face. "Finish getting dressed. We're going home. My mother is expecting us for dinner."

* * *

Nathan and Haley walked through the doors of the Scott Mansion. Haley was not in a good mood. She didn't want to be around Nathan much less his mother right now. She just wanted to go straight to her bedroom and cry. "Look, we're home now so you can drop the cold shoulder act. I don't care what you do when we're alone, but that face will not fly with my mother. Pull yourself together. She cannot see that you have been crying."

"I'll just go splash some cold water on my face." Haley said, gritting her teeth.

"You do that. And be quick about it. We're having dinner soon." Haley angrily walked away and toward the bathroom.

Nathan blew out a deep breath and walked into his mother's office. Deb smiled and stood up from her desk when she saw him. "There you are. I was wondering where you were. Where have you been?"

Nathan ignored her and walked toward the small bar in the office. "I had to take care of a little business."

"Oh?"

Nathan poured himself a glass of Scotch. "Yea. It seems that your new employee, Lucas Roe, gave his notice effective about 10 minutes ago."

"Why?" Deb asked, walking toward him. "What did you do to him?"

"I didn't do anything, mom. It was his decision and he just figured that Haley's marriage to me is everything she says it is."

"Is that so?"

Nathan turned around and looked at his mother. "Yep. So I'm sorry to spoil your big scheme."

"You obviously feared your new bride would fail. Otherwise you wouldn't have gotten rid of Lucas so quickly."

"Mom, it's done! Haley and I are through jumping through your hoops. She's my wife, in _every_ way. It's time for you to accept that and give her the respect she deserves."

Haley walked into the office and over to Nathan and his mother, who were having a stare off. "Nathan, can I talk to your mother alone, please? We have a wedding to plan." She smiled.

"Yea." He said, leaving the two women alone.

When Nathan had shut the door, Deb spoke. "You keep surprising me, Haley."

"How so?"

"Well, as of recently this afternoon, your old boyfriend Lucas, was convinced he still had a future with you."

"Did he tell you that?"

"He didn't have to. How did you manage it, Haley?"

"I'm not sure I know what you're talking about."

"Nathan just told me that Lucas accepts this marriage as the real thing. But of course, men are easily manipulated. Especially when it comes to the matter of an intimate nature. Everything they're feeling is right on their faces, like a billboard for the whole world to see. But we women are different, aren't we? We hide our feelings well. We can adapt to our situations and become like chameleons, change our colors to survive."

"I would like my friend Peyton to be my maid of honor." Haley looked at her straight in the eyes as she took a step toward Deb. "And I would like lots of white roses. I know they're more expensive than the red ones, but Nathan thinks I'm worth it."

"The more I think about it, Haley, the more I see that a big wedding is unnecessary. After all, you were the one that didn't want to have one anyway."

"Well, I'm sorry that I gave you that impression, but that couldn't be farther from the truth. A big wedding is exactly what I want." She smiled. "In fact, the bigger the better."

"I'm sorry, Haley, but I've decided that a big wedding would be in questionable taste."

"Why?"

"Well you did kill Nathan's brother."

"It was an accident. Besides, Father Thomas says I've been forgiven."

"By God perhaps. But certainly not by me."

"I know that you have a right to your opinion, but in time I think you'll learn to love me. I'm gonna do everything I can to earn your respect and your trust. And I wanna do it by starting with the wedding. I want you to invite your family and your friends and I want to get to know them and become part of this family. And I know that you don't believe me, but I want you to be proud of me, as proud as I am to be Mrs. Nathan Scott."

"I'll consider it." Deb eyed Haley and left the room.

"I'll consider it." She mocked. _I'll go through your family rituals. And I'll do it starting with this wedding. And I'm gonna get so deep inside this family that I'll find out all your weaknesses, where all your skeletons are buried and as God as witness, I will bring this family down_. Haley thought to herself. "I will get my life back." She said out loud.

* * *

The next morning Haley stood outside Peyton's house. She had called Peyton the night before and asked if she could stop by and get some of her stuff. She called Peyton because she couldn't talk to Lucas. She took a deep breath and knocked softly on the door.

Peyton opened the door almost immediately. She put her finger to her lips, signaling Haley to be quiet. "I don't have much time." Haley whispered.

"Come on in. Your stuff is here." Peyton said, grabbing her hand and pulling her into the house. "But keep it down, Haley."

Haley walked in and saw Lucas asleep on Peyton's couch. Her stomach dropped. "What is he doing here?"

"He was really messed up last night, Haley. He was wasted. I've never seen him so upset."

"I'm sorry."

"He's gonna be sorrier when he wakes up."

Haley glanced back at Lucas and sighed. "This is terrible."

"No, you should feel good, ok. Your plan worked. Lucas thinks it's over now. No matter how you look at this, you did the right thing, Haley."

"You know, I almost didn't go through with it."

"But you did and you saved his life."

"Then why don't I feel better about it?"

Lucas shifted on the sofa and Peyton grabbed Haley's hand to lead her into another room. "Listen, if it makes you feel any better, I'm going through my own thing about it. But I'm sorry. I can only imagine how much it cost you to hurt him like this."

"Ok, you know what? I can't think about this right now. I told Nathan I came here to get my stuff, but I really came here because I need somebody that I can trust. And since I can't go to Lucas and I can't go to anybody else-"

"Oh, like I'm your last choice?"

"Peyton, please don't get offended. Look, I'm asking for your help. I need you."

"Ok. What is it?"

"I'm gonna take down the Scott family and Nathan right along with it."

Peyton grabbed Haley's hand and walked her outside to her porch so that they could talk louder. "You slept with a guy you don't really like and now you think you can take down his whole family?!"

"I didn't sleep with him, ok. And I know what I have to do to turn the tables on Deb Scott. Look, I'm gonna stay in this family, find out what I need to know, how the business works, where the bodies are buried-"

"Are you serious?"

"Yes, I'm serious."

"You're crazy. There probably really are bodies buried and if they find out what you're doing, you're gonna be one of them."

"I know the risk involved in this. I know what the chances are, Peyton."

"Oh my God! You'd rather lose your life than live without Lucas?!"

"Peyton! What's going on out there? Who are you talking to?" They heard Lucas yell from inside the house.

Peyton and Haley stood there, unable to move or speak.

"I have to go check." Peyton whispered. Haley nodded.

Peyton slowly opened the door so that Lucas wouldn't be able to see Haley. "What's going on? Who were you talking to?"

"You look like hell."

"Yea, I feel like I've been there and back. Who were you talking to?"

"The new bartender came by to get his hours."

"Listen, thanks for last night."

"How about a glass of water?" Peyton said, heading for the kitchen. She was trying to avoid talking about last night for as long as possible.

She walked back into the living room and handed it to him. "Thanks for putting up with me."

"It's nothing, really."

"It was something to me." He said, placing a hand on her arm. "It meant a lot." Peyton tried to hide her smile. "You know, I think I'm gonna be liking you around from now on." Lucas took his hand off her arm and ran it over his face. "Remind me never to drink again."

"Why don't you go take a shower? That'll make you feel better."

"Yea, I'm gonna go do that."

When Peyton was sure he was in the bathroom, she quickly walked back to the door so that Haley could get her stuff. "He's in the shower."

"Alright, I'm just gonna grab my stuff and get out of here."

"I'll just say that I brought it over to you, ok."

"Thanks." Haley said, grabbing the basket that her stuff was in. "Listen, I wanna tell you something. I'm not doing this for Lucas anymore, alright. I'm doing this because I'm not gonna let my life be run by other people."

"Wait, you're not doing this for Lucas anymore? What, do not love him anymore?"

"No, I will probably always love Lucas. I just realized that we're over. We're done for good. And that's the way it has to be."

"For now."

"No, for good. Look, even if this plan works, it's gonna take time, lots of time. And I don't know where you or I or Lucas are going to be by the time it's over. And there may not be a relationship worth saving."

"You never know."

"Right now I need to concentrate on getting Nathan to trust me and getting Deb to warm up to me, which is not going to be an easy task. Basically, what I'm telling you is that you have an open playing field."

"Well I'll keep that in mind."

"Just take a step back, evaluate the situation and see if being the next best thing is who you really want to be."

"Wait, what are you trying to say? I'll always be second best?"

"No."

"In your eyes."

"Peyton, you're beautiful, you're talented, you're smart. And as much as I hate to say it, you have everything."

"But to Lucas I'm just a used sock?"

"No, not at all. Look, my great aunt Camilla used to tell me that being in love is so great, but it's always better if the guy is a little bit more in love with you. Do you really think you're ever really going to have that with Lucas? I mean knowing that he wants somebody else? Just think about it. I wouldn't want to be settled for. I deserve better and so do you."

When Peyton didn't say anything Haley walked to the door. "Haley."

"Yea?" she asked, turning around.

"Do you need any help?"

"I think I'm ok for now. Thanks." Haley smiled as she opened the door and left.


	19. Chapter 18

Deb walked to Nathan and Haley's bedroom door and knocked. "Good morning, mom." Nathan said when he opened the door.

"Good morning." She said, walking past Nathan into the bedroom. "Where's your lovely wife this morning?" she asked, noticing Haley was gone.

Nathan followed her into the room. "Bear drove her over to her Peyton's place to get some of her stuff." Nathan answered.

"Are you sure that's all she's going to be picking up?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"We both know she has a lot of friends; friends that might night be so friendly if you had gone along for the ride."

"Mom, we had an understanding. You were gonna back off Haley."

"I'm just trying to protect your interests, Nathan."

"Lucas Roe is gone, ok. He's out of the picture."

"Are you really so naïve to believe that a girl's feelings can just turn on a dime like that?"

"I know what I know."

"Which is not as much as I thought you did."

"Mom, what is it gonna take to convince you? You were so certain that Haley wouldn't be able to resist Lucas being in the same house as us, but she did. So it's over. It's done."

"So you say."

"Yes, I say it is done. And it is. Haley can't wait for the wedding. She told you so herself."

"Yes, it's interesting about that."

"What's so interesting?"

"I told Haley that she didn't have to go through with the wedding and suddenly she changed her mind. She can't wait, just like that."

"Well, doesn't every woman dream of a big wedding? What's the mystery?"

"Nathan."

"What?"

"Where is your head? Don't be fooled by this girl. Your feelings for Haley blind you. She killed your brother. She struck him dead. It's only a matter of time before she turns on you as well."

"She's not gonna turn on me, mom."

"That is precisely what she is going to do. I'd stake my life on it."

"Ok, mom, what's this big betrayal supposed to look like? Is Haley gonna do some sort of Martha Stewart makeover on the house when the wedding's over?"

"Don't make jokes about this."

"Well, you're making it kind of difficult for me to take you seriously."

"The girl will hurt you."

Nathan sighed. "Don't you have something more important you need to be doing?"

"There is nothing more important than the welfare of my son. Nathan, I'm speaking to you now as a mother, not as the head of this family."

"Well then, as a mother…lay off, ok."

"I know you think you know everything, that you have nothing more to learn from me, that you know what's best for this family, this business-"

"I didn't say that, did I?"

"Nathan, you're so smart about so many things. But you're too emotional. It's my fault. I spoiled you. Even as a child I knew that you were the special one, that you would be going to college, that you would be the head of this family, but you are too easily ruled by your heart."

"Mom, I know what I'm doing with Haley."

"Do you?"

"Yes."

"What woman would leave her boyfriend just like that?"

"I was there, mom. I saw it, it happened."

"You saw what she _wanted _you to see. And maybe they're in it together. What about this Lucas? What if he's just a guy looking to make a big score?"

"All Lucas was trying to score was Haley and he lost."

"Keep your eye on this girl, Nathan."

"Mom, this girl is my wife and she has a name. It's Haley. Now use it, please."

Deb put her hands on Nathan's cheeks. "I just want to do what's best for you."

"You can drop the maternal act, ok. You just…you can't quite pull it off." Nathan said pulling her hands away.

"It's not an act!"

"You have been trying to turn me against Haley from the beginning and it's not gonna happen, mom. It's not. In fact, I think the only person that's trying to pull something over on me is you."

"All I'm asking is that you listen to Haley. Really listen and ask yourself whether or not you are hearing the truth, Nathan. Can you do that for me? Can you do that for your mother who loves you so much?"

"Nathan, can you help me with this?" Haley asked from outside the bedroom, stopping the conversation.

"Yea." He answered walking toward the door. She walked in the room and he grabbed the basket she was holding and placed it on a table.

"Thanks. I didn't realize I had so much stuff."

"Good morning, Haley." Deb smiled. "I was just leaving."

"Oh don't leave on account of me."

"Don't flatter yourself." Deb said, walking to the door.

"What did your mother want?" Haley asked when Deb was gone.

"Nothing. Just business."

"Oh?"

"Yea. You know, she mentioned that she tried to let you out of the wedding, but you wanted to go through with it."

"Yea, I just decided that if we're gonna do this we might as well do it right. I've decided to commit myself."

"To what?"

"To you." Haley smiled. "I really want to make this work with you."

"What made you change your mind?"

"What we did to Lucas the other day. Having him believe that we were sleeping together was the hardest thing I've ever had to do in my life."

"I know."

"So it should be easy from here on out, right? I mean, the hard part's over."

"Well what's easy about being married to someone you don't love?"

"Do you remember what you said in Father Thomas' office about how neither one of us really want to be here, but we're basically forced into the same boat?"

"Yea, something like that." Nathan nodded.

"Well, I guess I've just been pretty naïve. I mean, I always thought that marriages were like in the movies. You meet, you fall in love, you get engaged, you get married, lights go down, music comes up and you live happily ever after."

"Maybe for some people it works that way."

"Some, but not many. Not most. I'm just realizing that this is my life now. And I have to deal with it. I can either make myself miserable or I can make the best of it."

Nathan chuckled. "You make it sound like you're condemned to a life of breaking rocks or something."

"That's not how I meant for it to sound. I've been thinking about that and the other thing you said."

"What other thing?"

"About how most marriages don't last these days. Let me tell you, when you started talking about your great-grandparents, I thought you were really stuck back in a wrong century or a place a long time ago, but I'm starting to get your point."

"You are?"

"Yes. So I think what I need to do is just get to know you. I think maybe what we need is a courtship, a date." Haley chuckled.

"A date?"

Haley stuck out her hand. "Hi. I'm Haley James. I'm your wife."

Nathan shook her hand. "Well, it's very nice to meet you."

Haley laughed. "This is crazy."

Nathan stared at her, somewhat confused. "Yea, it's something."

"Look, I really want to get to know you. And I want you to know me."

"Ok."

Haley walked over to the bed and sat on it. "So, Nathan Scott, tell me about yourself. What do you like to do? And forget the obvious because I never kiss a man on the first date."

"Well, it's a little late for that, don't you think?" Nathan chuckled.

"So do you play sports?"

" I like to play football. I'm not very good at it." He said, sitting down next to her on the bed. He didn't sit close to her, still unsure about what was going on.

"Well, what are you good at?"

"Basketball. I'm actually really good at basketball. I played in a league in college with some friends."

"What did you major in?"

"Business with a minor in political science. I'm also auditing a psych class right now. I have a pain in the neck for a partner."

"Really?"

"Yea."

"That's not what she said about you."

"Right." He chuckled.

"So what about your family? I mean, they're not exactly the Brady Bunch."

"They're my family." Nathan shrugged.

"I just meant that they must have some place for you in their business, right?"

"Why are you asking me about my family?"

"Because I'm your wife and I figured since I'm living here-"

Nathan stood up. "Look, I don't talk about my family. Ever, ok."

"Sorry. I thought we were just getting to know each other. You know, talking."

"Well, maybe you shouldn't talk so much." Nathan said, before walking out of the bedroom door.

Haley closed her eyes and sighed. This wasn't going to be as easy as she thought.

* * *

That afternoon Haley walked into the diner and sat down across from Peyton in the booth. "Thank you for meeting me here."

"No problem."

"I was dying to get out of that house and talk to someone that I can trust."

"Who would've ever thought that would be me?" Peyton joked.

Haley smiled. She was glad that Peyton had become someone she could trust. She needed that. She turned and glanced outside the diner where Bear was standing and watching. "Is he still there?" Peyton asked.

"Yea, the guy follows me everywhere. The grocery store, to class, he would probably follow me to the bathroom if it wouldn't cause a scene."

"I remember seeing him at Tric. What's his name?"

"John Wallace. But he goes by Bear."

"Well why don't you just tell your new husband to call him off?"

"I wish it were that easy, but apparently having someone following me around to 'protect' me is one of the perks of being Mrs. Nathan Scott. But the only reason he's following me is to report back to Deb."

"Exactly. But seriously, how's everything going?"

"You mean my plan?"

"Yea. You still think pretending to be the perfect little wife is gonna help you get inside that family?"

"It's the only thing I can think of. If I can bring down the Scott family then I can get my life back."

"I think it's crazy." Peyton admitted. "Any progress?"

"Not yet. I tried to get in too soon."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I was asking Nathan questions about himself like what he likes to do and his plans for the future and stuff like that."

"And?"

"And we were really talking. He was getting into it, he was telling me stuff and everything was going great. I think we even laughed."

"Ok, sounds good."

"It was until I asked him about his family. Big mistake, huge."

"What happened?"

"He completely shut down. Apparently he doesn't discuss his family even with his wife. Can you imagine that?"

"You really need to be careful, ok. Because you are messing with fire and if you're not careful you're gonna get burned."

"Peyton, I can handle this." Haley assured her.

"Alright. You know, I think you were right about the idea to use the family."

"Yea, I thought so too. Except Nathan won't talk to me about it."

"No, not that family. I'm talking about your family."

"I already told Jake and Whitey and Abby to back off."

"If you really want Nathan to believe that you are a perfect little wife, you have to make everyone believe that."

"Everyone?"

"Yes. And once he sees you including him in your own family, there's no way he can't believe that you're really serious."

"I think you're onto something. And this wedding is going to be the perfect opportunity to show everyone how blissfully happy I am."

"That's right, your family and his family together. Now you're talking."

"Do me a favor, Peyton."

"What?"

"I don't care how you do it, I don't care what you have to do…make sure Lucas does not come to my wedding."

"I don't think that's going to happen. I mean, when he saw you two at the cottage…you know you did a good job."

"That was the plan."

"I know. But it broke his heart. And just so you know, I'm not in the business of monitoring him anymore."

"What do you mean? What happened?"

"Believe it or not, I took your advice."

"You took my advice?"

"Yea."

"_You_ actually listened to _me_?"

"Yea. I mean, he wanted to thank me for all my support and for being such a great friend. And he asked me out."

"Like on a date?" Haley asked, a little hurt.

"Yea. And at first I was mentally shopping for a killer new outfit. But then I thought about what you said, how I should step back and see if this is really what I want, if I always want to be second best. And you know what I decided?"

"What?"

"Your Aunt Camilla was one smart woman. So I stepped back and for once I'm feeling a little taller. You know?"

"I'm not sure that I do."

"I just don't want him asking me out because he feels like he owes me something. I don't want a pity date. I deserve more. You told me that."

"So let me get this straight. Lucas asked you out and you turned him down? You said no?"

"Well, I said that I was gonna take a rain check and that I already had a date." Haley chuckled. "What's so funny?"

"We are. I just never would've guessed that we'd be here. And yet, here we are. You're getting advice from me about Lucas and you're giving me tips on Nathan and how to deal with his family."

Bear entered the diner and walked over to their table. "It's getting late."

"I'm aware of what time it is and I'll let you know when I'm ready to go, ok." Haley answered. Bear looked at her one last time and then walked back outside.

"He's a human alarm clock." Peyton commented.

"I cannot believe that this is my life. I feel like I can't breathe. I feel like the only privacy I have is with Nathan and it's not like I really have any."

"How long do you think you can live like this, Haley?"

"You know what? Now that I have a plan, a way out, I think I can handle almost anything." Haley began putting on her jacket. "Peyton, thank you."

"For what?"

"For being a friend." Both Haley and Peyton smiled as Haley got up and left the diner.


	20. Chapter 19

Nathan and Haley walked up the sidewalk of the James home. The home where Haley's brother Jake, her sister-in-law Abby, and her great Uncle Whitey lived. The same house she lived in before she married him. Her father, Jimmy James, was a doctor who was always working. Right now he was stationed somewhere in Africa.

When Haley had suggested that Nathan meet her family, Nathan had been skeptical. But he had reluctantly said yes. Now walking up the sidewalk, he was becoming nervous. "Ok, now that we're here, do you want to tell me why?"

"Why what?"

"Why you insist on telling your family in person?"

"You make it sound like it's odd."

"You couldn't just call them?"

"Well that wouldn't be very nice. I just want to see the reaction on their faces. Is that too much to ask?"

"No. I guess you have had to do your share with my family."

"You guess?" she chuckled.

"And since you're trying to make this marriage work, it's only fair that I deal with your family. That's how marriages work, right?"

"Yea."

"But you have to admit that I am walking into the lion's den here. I know how your people feel about me."

"Yea, you're right. They don't like you. But your family doesn't like me. So we have another fair is fair, here."

Haley turned to head inside, but Nathan grabbed her arm and turned her toward him. "You know what? I'm sorry, but I'm not buying it."

"What are you doing?"

"I'm not buying any of it. I know you hate my family. I see it in your face everyday. Why are we suddenly playing the newlywed game?"

"Let go of me." Haley said looking at him straight in the eyes.

Nathan sighed and let her arm go. "It doesn't make sense, Haley."

"_You're_ talking to me about not making sense? You tell me that you want us to convince everyone that this marriage is real and then when I tell you that I agree with you, you tell me that I'm trying to pull something over on you?"

"Are you?"

"Can you forget about your family for one minute? Did it ever occur to you that maybe I don't hate you so much? Maybe I _like_ you a little bit? I know how you feel about me, Nathan. That's the problem."

"What? What is that supposed to mean?"

"Just that, I may say things out of anger or whatever, but the bottom line is that I know what you did for me. I know that you risked everything to save my life. I know that. I'm just trying to tell you that the Nathan I know, isn't the jerk everyone thinks he is. And for right now that's gonna be good enough for me. Maybe in time it'll be more, but that's the whole package. Take it or leave it."

Nathan sighed. "Let's go play meet the in-laws."

Haley smiled and turned to open the door. "I'm home everybody!" she yelled, walking into the house. Nathan followed behind her. "And I'm not alone!"

Whitey and Jake came into the living room, hearing her. "So we see." Whitey said.

Haley grabbed Nathan's hand and walked him over to her brother and great uncle. "Yes, and I have news. Great news, actually. The wedding is set for the day after tomorrow." Haley smiled.

"The day after tomorrow?!" Whitey exclaimed.

"There are so many new plans that we need to lay out and I wanted the whole family in on the decisions."

"Well, thanks for keeping us posted, Haley. But you can count us out." Jake said.

Haley let go of Nathan's hand and walked closer to her brother. "Can you just try and forget about his family and forget about everything that you've read in the papers and seen on the news and look at the man. This is the man that I've chosen to marry."

"Look, you don't have to defend me." Nathan said, behind her. "If your brother and rest of the family don't want to come to the wedding, that's fine. They don't have to come." Haley walked back and stood next to him. Nathan took a nervous breath and looked at Jake and Whitey. "As you both know, Haley and I are already married, but Haley wants a real wedding. And I intend to give her everything that she wants with or without guests."

"No, don't you tell us what we need to do." Jake said stepping toward Nathan. "And if you're gonna marry my little sister, there's a couple things you and I need to talk about."

"Ok."

"Let's go."

"Why don't I come along?" Haley smiled.

"No, Haley. You stay here." Whitey insisted.

Jake and Nathan walked away from a very nervous Haley. When Haley turned around, Whitey was looking at her. "What?"

"Honey, if you think I just fell off a turnip truck, you've got another thing coming."

"What are you talking about, Uncle Whitey?"

"Abby told me about her visit with you. She said you were so skittish, you nearly jumped out of your skin."

"You know how Abby is. She's always exaggerating." Haley smiled.

"She wasn't exaggerating about how miserable you are. I know. I saw for myself."

"When was this?"

"At the restaurant. You were so busy playing the part of the blushing bride, but I looked in your eyes and they told me the truth."

"I'm not acting."

"Honey, you're not fooling anyone. You're not in love with that boy. It's written all over your face."

* * *

Nathan followed Jake as he walked down the hallway of the house toward a room with the door closed. "Is this part of the grand tour?"

"This is Haley's room." Jake answered, opening the door and walking in. Nathan followed. "Go ahead, take a look."

"Ok." Nathan said, walking around the room. On her desk were a variety of trophies. He picked one up and smiled. "If you're trying to tell me Haley's a winner, I already know."

"Did you know that my sister could have gone to any school she wanted? Did you know that she received academic scholarships to Duke, Notre Dame, Berkley and Stanford? Did you know that?"

"No. Why didn't she go?"

"She fell in love with Lucas. She gave it all up, threw it all away. She went to Tree Hill University. It's a fine school, but compared to Stanford, not even close."

"What are you trying to tell me?"

"Haley is more than all these ribbons and trophies that you see in this room. And she's more than just a very, very bright girl. She has an enormous heart that doesn't know when to stop giving. Do you understand?" Jake walked past Nathan to two framed pictures on the wall. "Look at these."

Nathan turned and looked. "Is that some kind of garden?"

"No. This is the Tree Hill Memorial Garden on top of the hospital. Haley designed all of this. She put the whole thing together. She planted these trees; she organized the fundraiser that will keep this going for the next six years."

"That's very impressive."

"Impressive?"

"Yea."

"It's unbelievable for a teenager. But Haley had a vision. She had a vision of this beautiful, quiet place where family and friends could visit their loved ones they'd lost and remember them. These families still keep in touch with Haley. They don't forget her. They all talk about how she's touched their lives."

"Dr. James, I know the kind of woman that I married."

"Is that right? Let me ask you something, Nathan. If Haley is right about you and you're not like the rest of your family, why would you force her into a life that makes her miserable?"

"I'm not forcing her."

"You're destroying my sister's spirit."

"Jake, may I call you Jake?" When Jake didn't answer Nathan continued. "Look, I would never do anything to hurt Haley."

"Good. I'm so glad to hear you say that. Because if you're telling me the truth, Nathan, the greatest gift you can give Haley is to let her go."

* * *

"You know, I didn't have to come here. I could've just had my wedding with the dress and the flowers. But without all you guys there, it just feels…"

"Incomplete?" Whitey guessed.

"Yes. That's the word that I'm looking for. It would feel incomplete. So I came here because I wanted to ask you and Abby and Jake to be a part of my wedding. I wanted everybody to be there."

Jake walked in and stood next to Whitey. "Abby could be a bridesmaid, Jake could walk me down the aisle. I love you guys so much. I just want us to love each other and be like we always have been, you know. Can you please just give me that? Jake? Where is Nathan?"

When he didn't answer her, she took off toward her bedroom.

* * *

Nathan was still looking around Haley's room after Jake had left. He noticed all the ribbons and trophies that Jake had mentioned during their conversation. Haley obviously had accomplished a lot.

He walked to a wall and saw a photo of Haley framed. He took it off the wall and sat down on her bed while he looked at it. God, she was beautiful. He was so focused on the picture that didn't hear Haley enter the room. "What's that?" she asked, walking toward him. He showed her the picture. "Oh, that. Lucas took that a while ago." She said, grabbing it from him and placing it on her desk. "It's alright, I guess."

Nathan stood up and walked to the desk and picked up the picture again. "No it's not."

"What?"

"Come on, he had a beautiful subject and he didn't do it justice. Not at all."

Haley needed to change the subject. This was getting a little too intimate for her liking. "I think I'm gonna get some of my stuff before we go."

Nathan put the picture down and followed her with his eyes as she walked around her room gathering her stuff. "Ok. That's a good idea. I guess I'll go downstairs and check out the score of the game."

"Listen, my family…they're really wonderful people. You'll see."

"Well, you really are something." Nathan said, walking toward the stairs.

Haley walked to the door and checked to make sure he was far away from her room. When she saw that he was, she walked to her phone and dialed the operator. "Hi, operator. Can you connect me to the local FBI's number? It's very important…you can connect me? That'd be great. Thanks…Hi, my name is Haley Ja-, uh, Haley Scott. I'm married to Nathan Scott…yea, I'm sure you know who the family is…I want to help you, but-"

Nathan walked in. "Haley? I was thinking maybe we should-" He noticed she was on the phone. "Oh, sorry."

Haley spoke into the phone. "Can you hold on of a second?" She put the phone on her shoulder and turned to him. "I'll be just a minute."

"I'll wait."

Haley sighed and then put the phone back up to her ear. "I'm gonna have to call you back." She hung up the phone and turned to smile at him. "What were you gonna say?"

"Who were you talking to?"

"Just a friend from school. We should what?"

"Who were you talking to, Haley?" Nathan pressed.

"Nobody important. Listen, when we leave I was thinking we should probably go shopping because the stores are gonna close soon." Haley rambled. "Do you know what time it is, by the way? Oh my clock's right there." She chuckled nervously, looking at her clock. "And if we could go by the florist and the-"

"Do you think I'm stupid? I know who you were talking to, Haley."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Haley, I asked you a very simple question. Who were you-"

"Whatever you think you heard, I can explain it."

"I don't like being lied to, Haley."

"Well, I still don't know what you're talking about."

"Stop it. You were talking to Lucas weren't you?"

"Lucas?"

"Yea."

"You thought I was talking Lucas?" she chuckled.

"This is funny?"

"No, it's not. Because you're so wrong."

"I'm wrong? No, I don't think I am."

"That part of my life is over."

"Then why were you calling him, Haley?"

"I swear on my mother's grave, I wasn't talking to Lucas. I wouldn't call him and he certainly isn't going to call me, especially after what happened at the cottage. What's important to me, what's real to me right now is you and me and this marriage. I made a commitment to you."

"You said that Lucas was the love of your life."

"Haven't you ever said something like that? Something wildly romantic?"

"No."

"Well, I have. And I'm not going to apologize for it because it _was_ a part of my life. But if you don't believe me, that's your problem. Mine right now is dealing with all these wedding arrangements."

"Don't change the subject."

"I thought this was the subject. You know, our wedding, you and me. Look, I'm getting used to your family, I'm accepting them, I'm going the distance here."

"Are you?"

"What does that mean?" Haley asked.

"We are about to take vows, Haley. Vows that pledge us to each other, pledge a commitment that doesn't have anything to do with our families. And when you say you're going the distance…I don't know. Does that mean that you are ready to accept me as your husband? As your real husband."

"You are my husband." Haley said, walking away from him and sitting down at her desk. "And if you're talking about something else, then I…I thought we already talked about this."

"Did we?" Nathan asked, sitting down on the bed next to her desk.

"Yes. Look, I'm giving everything I have. I'm putting a hundred percent into this marriage."

"A hundred percent? How do you figure that?"

"Well, that's where we differ."

"Where?"

"Being close, being_ intimate_ is something that's gonna take a lot of time. I thought we decided that we were take this slow, like we're dating."

"Well, we're not dating, Haley. We're married."

"But we're only married because we have to be."

"You don't have to explain the circumstances."

"No, I know that. What you did by marrying me was wonderful. It was generous. It was more than generous. You saved my life. I'm really, extremely grateful for that. But…this is really hard to talk about. It's not like I'm that experienced, you know. Lucas was my first boyfriend. I just need you to be patient with me."

"I get what you're saying."

"Thank you."

"Hold on. Let me finish." Nathan let out a breath and continued. "I get what you're saying. But even though we didn't get married under normal circumstances, the institution of marriage is very important to me. And I want mine to work. And you are not the only one who has needs. I need to feel married to you in, well, every way."

"Are you telling me that I have no choice, that I have to sleep with you?"

"No, no, no." Nathan said, kneeling next to her while she sat in the chair. "Let me explain this. I want this to come out right. I don't want to sound like a pig."

"Ok, I'm listening."

"Look, you don't think I understand how difficult this is for you, but you're wrong. I do. I know that you didn't sign up for me. I know that I'm not the man of your dreams. But I am a man. And when we, when you and I go into our room at night…you know, I can't just turn myself into some sort of automaton with no feelings and no desires. I can't do that."

Nathan leaned in and got close to Haley's ear. Haley sat facing forward, too afraid to move. "You know, you take a shower and you comb your hair, you rub lotion into your arms and your shoulders, and you slip into a nightgown. And I'm sitting in bed pretending to read or listen to music or whatever, but that's not what I'm doing. I'm watching you. I'm trying not to, but I am. I do. I am a man. And when you climb into bed with me, beside me never touching, I lay there awake, staring into the dark aware of everything that you're doing, of how you breathe, every rustle of the sheets. And it takes every ounce of my being to not want to reach out to you. I care about you, I desire you, I want to reach out to you."


	21. Chapter 20

_Nathan leaned in and got close to Haley's ear. Haley sat facing forward, too afraid to move. "You know, you take a shower and you comb your hair, you rub lotion into your arms and your shoulders, and you slip into a nightgown. And I'm sitting in bed pretending to read or listen to music or whatever, but that's not what I'm doing. I'm watching you. I'm trying not to, but I am. I do. I am a man. And when you climb into bed with me, beside me never touching, I lay there awake, staring into the dark aware of everything that you're doing, of how you breathe, every rustle of the sheets. And it takes every ounce of my being to not want to reach out to you. I care about you, I desire you, I want to reach out to you."_

Haley quickly stood up and walked away from him and Nathan sat back on the bed. She couldn't believe what he had just told her. What was going on? This wasn't supposed to be happening. "Ok. I hear what you're saying and I understand…I think. I don't want to shut you out."

Nathan stood up and looked at her. "Look, just don't shut down. Just try to keep an open mind about me, about our marriage, about everything, ok. And maybe in time after the marriage, after the vows things might feel different."

"Maybe."

"I know you're trying to make this work. I know that. And maybe the wedding will help. You might be surprised, Haley."

"Yea, I could."

"And in the mean time, until our wedding night, I'm not gonna sleep in our room."

"Oh." Haley said slightly surprised.

"You need space and I…well, that's what we're gonna do. So we should go. We need to get going."

"Yea, we need to get going. Why don't you go ahead and I'm just gonna grab some books that I want to take back to your house-our house." Haley smiled as she quickly corrected herself.

"Ok." Nathan said, walking past her and out the door.

When he was gone Haley let out a deep breath. The breath she had been holding the entire time. "Oh my God. What am I gonna do now?"

* * *

Lucas was standing in the James kitchen talking to Whitey. He had come over to return some of Haley's things. "If you ever want to talk, Lucas." Whitey said.

"Talk about what, Whitey?"

"Anything. I'm a pretty good listener."

"Thanks. But I just really don't have much to say anymore."

"You've been hurt."

"I've been worse."

"I don't really believe that's true." Whitey admitted. "I can see it in your eyes."

"What do you see?"

"Pain. Lucas, this marriage between Nathan and Haley is-"

"A fact." Nathan said behind them. Whitey turned and Lucas just looked at him. "Right, Whitey? It's a fact." Nathan walked toward them as Haley came down the stairs and stood next to Whitey. "Lucas."

"I didn't know you were here." Lucas said.

"In person."

"If you'll excuse me." Whitey said, walking away, leaving the three of them awkwardly standing there.

"This is no good, Lucas."

"What's no good, Nathan?"

"What is it gonna take for you to get the message?"

"There's a message?" Lucas mocked.

"Do I have to write it out in big, fat letters in the sky?"

"Go ahead, man. Knock yourself out."

"Back off. You're stalking my wife."

"I'm stalking her?"

"It's a really bad habit."

"Are you threatening me?" Lucas asked.

"I'm just telling you like it is. Haley and I are going to be happy together, whatever it takes. Right, Haley?"

"Yea, I…"

"Save it. You don't have to say anything." Lucas said.

"Ok, there's the door. We'll see you later. Hopefully never." Nathan said, pointing to the door.

Lucas looked at Haley. "For your information, I wasn't stalking you. I was dropping off something."

"I know." Haley said.

"Listen, next time you wanna drop off some of Haley's things, call me. I'd love to pick them up." Nathan said.

"Nothing left to pick up." Lucas said and then he walked out of the house.

"You ok?" Nathan asked.

"Yea, why wouldn't I be? We should get out of here before all the stores close."

"Yea."

"Can you take this to the car for me, please?" Haley asked, pointing to a box of stuff Lucas had set on the table.

"Sure." He said as he picked up the box.

The two headed for the door. Nathan walked out first. Haley stood at the door and looked back into her house. "I'll be back. I promise." She said before closing the door and catching up to Nathan.

* * *

Haley lay on the bed at the Scott Mansion. She was trying to get comfortable. She sat up and switched positions to lay on her side, her back facing the door. As she closed her eyes she heard the bedroom door open and then close. She stayed like she was.

"Hey. Are you sleeping?" Nathan whispered.

"I'm trying." Haley answered with her eyes still shut.

"Sorry."

"I can't close my eyes anyway." Haley said, rolling over and sitting up. "I can't believe our wedding is only a day away. I'm so excited."

"Yea, it's gonna be a good day."

"You know, I really want to make this work with you."

"Me too."

Haley noticed that Nathan still had the box of stuff that Lucas had brought over in his hands. "What are you still doing with that?"

"Well, I thought you might want it. It is your stuff from Lucas' place."

Haley stood up next to the bed. "That stuff is from another lifetime. And I don't ever want to see it again."

"Are you sure?"

"Just get rid of it."

Nathan set the box down on a table. "You know, it is ok for you to have this stuff, Haley. You are allowed to have your memories."

"If I wanted that stuff I could buy it myself, ok." Haley snapped.

"So you want me to just toss it all?"

"Toss it, burn it, whatever. Do whatever you want to with it."

"Are you ok?" Nathan asked concerned.

"Yes. Everything I need is right here with you, right?" Haley smiled.

"You know what? Why don't you keep it anyway, go through it just to be sure. I'm gonna…I'll be back." Nathan said walking toward the door.

"Where are you going?"

"I have to take care of some things."

"You gonna tell me or are you just gonna keep it a secret?"

"Let's just say that it's something that's gonna make our wedding day perfect." He smiled and then left the room.

* * *

Haley sat on the bed reading one of the books that was in the box Lucas had dropped off. A knock on the door tore Haley away from the book. "Yea, come in." She quickly put the book back in the box so that whoever was at the door didn't find her with a book from Lucas. Deb walked in the room with a wedding dress and a veil in her hands. "Is something wrong?"

"No. I wanted to show you something." Deb walked further into the room and stood in front of Haley. "I know that you went out and bought yourself a lovely new wedding dress, but…"

"But what?"

"Well, it's brand new. In my family, weddings are all about tradition."

"I do want to be a part of that and I want your family to accept me."

"I was hoping you'd say that." Deb smiled. She held up the wedding dress. "I have brought my old wedding dress and I have had it cleaned and altered just for you."

"You really want me to wear your dress?"

"Not only my dress, but it's the same dress my mother-in-law wore at her wedding. Now, it's entirely up to you, but I think it would be wonderful and it would mean a great deal to Nathan's grandmother."

Haley stood up and looked at the dress. It was a simple A-line dress with beaded straps and a beaded belt around the waist. "Well, it certainly is beautiful. I'd love to wear it. I'd be honored."

"Thank you." Deb draped the dress across the bed. "I also wore it with this veil. Would you like to try it on?" she asked, holding it up.

Haley nodded. She walked to the mirror hanging in the room. Deb came up behind her and placed the veil on her head. "It's very pretty." Haley said.

"It's stunning. You know, I never thought this wedding would actually take place. I was sure Nathan would change his mind."

Haley turned around to look at Deb. She began taking the veil off. "But he's not going to."

"Yes, he's very devoted to you. He truly loves you. Even though you are not in love with him."

"That's not true. I do love him."

"You have managed to fool my son. He thinks you care about him, but I'm not that easy. You haven't fooled me."

"I'm not trying to fool anyone, Mrs. Scott. I really do love your son."

"You love_ yourself_. And you'd do anything to save yourself."

"You'll change your mind about me. You will. I'm gonna prove to you that I'm telling the truth. Someday you will see me as the daughter that you never had."

"We'll see about that."

Haley was about to respond, but someone knocked on the door. "Come in."

Peyton walked in and over to Haley and Deb. "Hello, Mrs. Scott."

"To which Mrs. Scott were you referring?" Deb asked.

"Both of you, I guess." Peyton smiled nervously. She noticed the dress on the bed. "Wow. That's a beautiful dress."

"Yes, that is my old wedding dress and Haley has so sweetly agreed to wear it tomorrow."

"I can't wait to try it on." Haley smiled.

"It is going to be a special day for you." Peyton said.

"I have some more preparations to take care of. I'll leave you two alone. Nice to see you, Peyton." With that, she walked out of the room.

"Thank God that you showed up. One more minute with her and I swear I was gonna lose it."

"I cannot believe you are wearing her dress, Haley. That has a very high ick factor."

"Oh yes, I know. It was another one of her plans to make sure I fit into the family."

"She still doesn't believe that you love Nathan?"

"No, she wants to get me to break down and confess."

"Well, you can't do that. You're dead if you do."

"I know that. I'm the one sleeping with an armed guard outside the door."

"What are you gonna do?"

"I'm working on it." Haley said, sitting down. "I called the FBI."

Peyton sat down too. "From here?!"

"No, not from here! I called them from my house. I went to pick up some books and stuff, but Nathan walked in on me. Anyway, I didn't get a chance to leave them that much information or my number or anything."

"I don't think the FBI needs your number to find you anyway."

"I guess that's true. Anyway, it's too late to break up the wedding."

"Which means that you are gonna have to convince a lot of people that you are head over heels for someone you don't even like."

"I'll just do it the same way I did it when I passed Pre Cana…I'll think about Lucas." Haley sighed and decided she needed to change the subject. "So what about you? What about that guy you lied to Lucas about? The phantom date."

"Well, that's going pretty terrible right now because of my big mouth. Now this guy who doesn't exist has a name. And his name is Brad. Like I would date anyone named Brad!"

"Brad?" Haley chuckled.

"Yea."

"Well, he's your guy. I guess you can do whatever you want to with him."

"I could, but Lucas wants to meet him."

"So what are you gonna do?"

"I know this guy who's trying to be an actor so I may just hire him."

"I'm sorry. You're gonna hire someone to play the part of your boyfriend Brad?"

"Yes, I am. Do you have a better idea? I mean, I don't want Lucas to know that I lied. I don't want him to think I'm some desperate loser."

"Well you are, aren't you?" Haley smiled.

"Hey! Desperate is you running away from your husband on your wedding night." Haley's smile faltered and she looked down at the ground. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say that."

"No, you're right. I mean, I have avoided him for this long."

"But he's gonna want a real wedding night. How are you gonna do that?"

"Well, I guess I'll just do what you're doing and hire an actor to play my part." Haley sadly joked.

* * *

Lucas sat on his bed, starring at a picture of Haley. He couldn't believe she was gone for good. When he heard a knock at his door, he put the picture down. "I'm coming." He said, walking to the door. He opened it to find Nathan standing there. "What the hell do you want?"

"I want to talk to you."

"Yea, well I don't want to talk to you." Lucas said, shutting the door. But Nathan stopped him and walked in.

"Well, I'm not going anywhere."

"Sure, invite yourself in, why don't you?"

"This won't take long, believe me." Lucas walked over and stood in front of him.

"What, are you personally inviting me to your bachelor party?" Lucas taunted.

"I want you to back off."

"Excuse me?"

"You say that you're through with Haley, but you just keep popping up wherever we are making little surprise appearances."

"You got a point to this?" Lucas asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Yea, that little box of old memories today upset my wife. I don't want to see any more stunts like that, you hear me? So if you have anymore plans or anymore surprise visits, drop them."

"I think I get what all of this is about. You're scared I may show up to your little wedding, Haley's gonna look at me and leave you standing at the alter like an idiot with your whole family looking at you, right? It's all over your face. You're scared that I'm gonna go to your wedding an ruin everything for you."

Nathan smirked. "I'm not afraid of you."

"Well you're afraid of Haley's feelings for me and that she'll never feel like that for you."

"There's nothing left for you. Stay away from us. She's not in love with you anymore. When are you gonna get that?"

"When are you gonna get that she's in love with me and you're gonna have to live with that for the rest of your life?"

"Ok, consider yourself warned." Nathan said, walking to the door. "Oh, I almost forgot." Nathan turned and looked at Lucas. "You come anywhere near our wedding tomorrow…you're a dead man." Nathan walked out of the house and Lucas just rolled his eyes and shook his head.

* * *

Haley stood in front of the mirror, holding up the wedding dress Deb had left in the room. She sighed. It was a beautiful dress. She turned back to Peyton and set the dress on the bed. "Have you talked to Lucas today?"

"Yea. This whole wedding is killing him. He tries to pretend he doesn't care, but he's in love with you, so…"

"Is this supposed to make me feel better, Peyton?"

"I'm just telling you. You asked."

Haley let out a deep breath. "This was supposed to be _our_ wedding. Lucas's and mine."

"Hey, you are doing what you have to do to save your life."

"No. I was pretending this whole time. Pretending is fine, that's one thing. But sleeping with Nathan…that's a different story."

"Listen, you have to go through with this, ok. At least he's not ugly. He could be ugly." Peyton said, trying to lighten the mood.

"Peyton, it's not as easy for me as it is for you. I've only been with one guy."

"You don't think I knew that? Look, I'm not telling you what to do, but don't blow this for morals. Come on."

"I think it's more than that now." Haley said, looking down at the floor.

"Does Nathan like you?"

Haley looked up and at Peyton. "I think he's actually starting to have feelings for me, yea."

"Great! That's good! You can use that. Listen, you have to destroy this family, right? And the only way you can do that is by getting close. Earn their trust."

Haley nodded. "You don't think Lucas is gonna do anything like show up at the wedding and try to stop it, do you?"

"Actually he has a meeting with a possible publisher so he won't be anywhere near here."

Haley wiped the tear that had fallen. "Ok."

* * *

Nathan headed toward his bedroom after he had gotten back from his chat with Lucas. "Nathan, where have you been? I want to speak with you." he heard his mother say. He wasn't in the mood. But he stopped anyway and sighed as he turned around to talk.

"I'm getting married tomorrow, mom. I have a lot of things to do."

"You can still back out of this. You can still stop this before you throw your life away."

"I'm not throwing my life away."

"Why can't you see Haley for who she really is?"

"That's enough, mom. One more word from you and I will leave this family forever. Now is that really what you want?" Nathan said before walking into the room and shutting the door.


	22. Chapter 21

**It's Nathan and Haley's wedding day :) Some things may not go as planned though. Enjoy!**

* * *

It was Nathan and Haley's wedding day. Nathan was in the living room where the ceremony was taking place, greeting his guests and family while Haley finished getting ready.

Nathan saw his mother talking to Bear and walked over to her. When Nathan gave Bear a nod, he walked away. "How's grandma doing?" he asked.

"She's still very weak, but she's grateful we decided to have to wedding here instead of the church. I'm hoping she'll make it down in time for the ceremony."

"I hope so too. I don't think she's been out of her room since Damien died."

"You're the future of this family now, Nathan."

"Be happy for me, mom." Nathan pleaded.

"Don't worry. I heard what you said yesterday. I won't stand in your way. If Haley is the woman that you have to have, then I'll just have to accept it."

Nathan smiled and kissed her cheek.

* * *

Jake, Abby and Whitey stood in the foyer of the Scott Mansion leaving their coats with the attendant. "Thank you." Abby said when the man took their jackets.

"Haley told me once what she wanted her wedding day to be like…it was nothing like this." Whitey commented as he looked around.

"Her wedding should be something we celebrate not something we dread." Abby said.

"Well, it is what it is. Let's go." Jake said. Abby linked her arm through his and the three walked into the ceremony space. As they walked in Jake looked around at all the people. People he didn't know or even recognize. "I just hope she knows what she's doing."

* * *

Haley was standing in her bedroom waiting for the wedding to start. She was ready to walk down the aisle. Well, as ready as she could be. Peyton was with her, making sure her dress looked perfect when she walked down the aisle. " I can't even believe this is my wedding day. I didn't even have the heart to tell my father."

"It probably would've made this worse anyway."

"Is Julian here?"

"No. He said he can't watch you do this."

"Well, I don't blame him. I mean, I don't even know if I can do it. Especially what comes after the wedding."

"You have to. You have to go through with it, Haley."

"Stop it. Stop, ok."

"No. What happens after the wedding, you have to do it."

"Look, my stomach is already in knots."

"You can do this. You've come this far, now do it."

"Peyton, I don't think I can do it."

"Yes you can. Come on. Everyone's waiting." Peyton said, opening the bedroom door.

Haley took a deep breath and let it out. She nodded and walked with Peyton out of the room to the ceremony.

* * *

Nathan stood in the middle of the room, waiting for the ceremony to start. He saw a man walking toward him. His cousin Chase. "Hey, Chase!" Nathan smiled, giving him a quick hug. "How's my favorite cousin?"

"I'm still blown away you're getting married. I though it'd be a long time before you settled down."

"Yea, so did I." Nathan chuckled. "But then I met Haley. Listen, thank you for being here on such short notice."

"Nate, are you kidding me? I wouldn't miss being your best man for anything. I'm just surprised it happened so fast. A few months ago, you were a regular Romeo."

"Yea, I guess that was before what happened to Damien."

"I still can't believe he's gone."

"I know. Everything changed after that, you know."

"You're different." Chase noted. "More serious."

"Well, I'm the future of the family now, at least according to what my mother says."

"Did Deb pressure you into getting married?"

"No, not at all."

"Alright. So where have you been keeping this mystery woman and how come I didn't get a chance to meet her before the wedding?"

"It happened kind of fast. You know, we met just after Damien died and one thing led to another and I don't know. When it's right, it's right. Haley is right. You'll see. And when you see her you will understand."

"I can't wait. I'm happy for you, man. Just save me a dance with the bride, ok?"

"Ok." Chase began walking away. "Hey Chase, I'm really glad you're here."

"Good luck." Chase said, hitting Nathan on the side of his arm.

"Thanks."

* * *

Everyone was beginning to take their seats, as the wedding was starting shortly. Nathan carefully walked his grandmother to her seat. Once she was seated he knelt down and grabbed her hand. "I am so happy that you could be here, grandma. It would not be the same without you."

"You've always been very special to me. I'm so glad I could be here this day to witness this." Nathan kissed her cheek, stood up and walked to the alter. Mae looked over to see a very unhappy Deb seated next to her. "Smile, Deb. This is a happy day for the family." Deb gave a forced smile.

As Nathan stood at the alter, he looked up to see Haley standing at the end of the aisle, her brother at her side. He smiled.

"It won't be long now." Jake said as he and Haley waited for Peyton to finish walking up the aisle.

"No it won't."

Jake turned to look Haley in the eyes. "I tried to look after you when dad left town and I don't think I did a very good job." He chuckled. "I want you to know, Haley, that I love you and I'm still your big brother. And if you want to come to me about anything, I'll be here. Just remember that, ok." Haley nodded. "Even now, Haley. Right now. I'll do anything for you. You just say the word and I'll take care of it."

_Here Comes the Bride_ began to play. "Please, Jake. You have to give me away."

"Ok." Jake said. He grabbed her hand and looped it through his arm. The two turned back to face forward and began walking up the aisle.

When Haley and Jake got to the front, Nathan stepped forward. Jake hesitantly let Nathan take her hand and kissed her cheek. He sat down next to Abby and Whitey.

"You look beautiful." Nathan whispered as he led them to stand in front of Father Thomas.

"Dearly beloved," Father Thomas began. "We are gathered here today to witness and bless the union of this man and this woman in holy matrimony. The union of husband and wife in heart, body, and mind was intended by God for their mutual joy. For the health and comfort given to each other good times and bad. And when it is God's will, procreation with children. Therefore, marriage is not to be entered into lightly, but with much thought and consideration. Into this holy union, Nathan Scott and Haley James have now come to be joined. If anyone can show just cause why these two should not be brought together in holy matrimony, speak now or forever hold your peace."

Peyton looked out and noticed Lucas standing in the back of the room. She started panicking inside.

But he didn't say anything. She silently let out a relieved breath.

"Nathan and Haley would now like to share personal vows." Father Thomas continued. "Haley?"

Nathan and Haley turned toward each other. Haley was first. She was shaking and Nathan noticed it. "Are you nervous?" He whispered.

"I feel like I'm gonna faint." Haley whispered to him.

"Just look at me." Haley nodded. "You want me to go first?" Haley nodded again. Nathan took a breath. "Haley, sometimes people meet each other under very unusual circumstances. We did. Who knows why a particular person is put in your life. I certainly didn't expect to meet someone like you and I know you didn't plan on meeting a guy like me, but by fate or just plain luck, we were thrown together. And I knew that you were a treasure to be cherished and to be valued. Haley, I promise to do everything in my power to keep you safe and to make you happy, always and forever."

Haley gave a small smile and cleared her throat. "Nathan, from now on I put my life, my fate into your hands."

Father Thomas paused for a moment to make sure that she was done speaking. When she didn't continue, he did. "Haley James, will you have this man Nathan Scott to be your husband to live together in the covenant of marriage? Will you love him, comfort him, honor him, keep him in sickness and in health and forsaking all others, be faithful to him as long as you both shall live?" Father Thomas said.

"I will."

"Nathan Scott, will you have this woman Haley James to be your wife to live together in the covenant of marriage? Will you love her, comfort her, honor her, keep her in sickness and in health and forsaking all others, be faithful to her as long as you both shall live?"

"I will." Nathan turned to Chase and took the ring from him. He slipped it on Haley's finger. "Haley, I give you this ring as a symbol of my vow. And with all that I am and with all that I have, I honor you."

Haley turned around and took the ring from Peyton. She put the ring on his finger. "Nathan, I offer you this ring as a symbol of my vow. And with all that I am and with all that I have, I will honor you."

"I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride." Father Thomas said.

Nathan smiled as he leaned in and kissed her. As everyone clapped, Haley and Nathan linked arms and walked back up the aisle.

* * *

Nathan, Haley and Deb stood together getting pictures taken. Haley saw Abby, Whitey and Jake standing off to the side waiting for her. She stepped away from the photographer and walked over to them. "Hi." She said, hugging Abby and then Whitey. "Thank you so much for coming."

"I wouldn't miss it." Jake said. "Don't forget how much we love you, ok." Jake kissed her cheek and hugged her.

Haley walked away and saw Peyton walking toward her. She opened her eyes wide. Peyton was smiling. "You did it!" Peyton said, hugging her. "You were great."

"Did you do what I asked you to do?"

"I will. I will call the FBI. I will be your go between. I know I owe you this."

"I can't even believe that I did it. If Lucas had shown up there is no way I could've done it."

Peyton nervously smiled. She was about to say something, but Nathan walked over to them. "Hi. Excuse me." Peyton stepped away, getting the hint. "Well, we did it. We're really married." He smiled and pulled her into him, hugging her.

* * *

Haley and Nathan stood together taking some more pictures. They were side-by-side, holding hands. "Bigger smiles." The photographer said. "All you have to do is think of all the days you'll be having together." He snapped some pictures. "Alright, get in closer." Nathan wrapped his arms around her waist, bringing her in closer.

"I guess we should've taken wedding reception 101." Nathan joked.

The photographer continued snapping pictures of them. "Beautiful."

"Alright, I think we need a break." Nathan finally said.

The couple walked over to the food table and began eating. Haley was starving. She hadn't eaten anything before the wedding because she was afraid she would throw it up from being so nervous. She looked over and noticed Nathan was still smiling. "You know, you can stop smiling now. We're on a break."

"I just…I can't stop smiling."

"Hey listen, I wanna thank you for kind of saving my vows. What you said about being so devoted and giving all of yourself…it was really good. So thank you."

"Well, you're welcome. I meant every word."

"I'm gonna go do the bride thing and say hi to everybody." She said, walking away from him. She walked over to Peyton, who was talking to Chase. "Hey, do you mind if I steal my maid of honor away from you for a few minutes?"

"No problem. I'll see you two ladies later." Chase smiled, walking away.

"Just so you know, the wedding was beautiful. Nathan really made me believe that he loved you. It was scary." Peyton smiled.

"Yea, you're not far off."

"What?"

"Things are getting a little too real. So, did you call the FBI?" Haley whispered.

"Well…"

"What? Did you call them or not?" Peyton stayed quiet. "Peyton, please answer my question."

"Yes, ok. I called them."

Deb walked over and smiled. "Haley, your husband wants you."

Haley looked past her and saw Nathan in the middle of the dance floor with his arm outstretched, signaling her to join him. She walked over and stood in front of him, slightly embarrassed. "What's going on?"

"It's time for our first dance."

"Attention! It's my pleasure to introduce to you Mr. and Mrs. Nathan Scott." The DJ said. Everyone cheered and clapped.

Nathan grabbed one of Haley's hands and put his other on her waist. The two began dancing. Nathan placed his forehead against hers as they continued.

Eventually more people starting dancing with them, much to Haley's delight.

Jake stood up from the table where he was sitting with Abby and Whitey. "I'm gonna go."

"We're leaving?" Abby asked as she and Whitey stood up.

"No. I just gotta say something. It'll only take a second." Jake said, walking away. He walked over to Deb.

"Dr. James." Deb smiled.

"Well, looks like they did it."

"And while we both had our reservations, I've been surprised."

"Yea. I'll tell you, I had a chance to talk to Haley and I've never seen her happier. And that is the only thing that matters to me. Would you mind if I had the floor for a few minutes?"

"No, of course not. This is Haley's home now."

"Yes it is. Excuse me." Jake said, walking over to the DJ to get him to turn off the music and to grab the microphone. "Excuse me, can I have your attention for just a moment, please? I'm Haley's brother and I just want to say a few words."

Everyone got quiet and turned to look at him. "This all happened so fast and I didn't think it was real. But today I saw the one thing that I always imagined when I thought about my sister's wedding. And that was her smile. Haley, may that beautiful smile always light up your husband's life like it lit up this room today. Would you all please join me in a toast to Mr. and Mrs. Scott. To my beautiful little sister…I love you, Haley. And I'm so proud to be your brother."

Everyone began cheering. Jake walked over and kissed Haley on the cheek. Chase grabbed the microphone. "What do you say we hear something from the bride and groom, huh?"

Nathan hesitantly walked up to Chase and grabbed the microphone. "Well, ok. Thank you all for coming. I know this meant a lot to both Haley and me to have you all here. But actually we're feeling a little tired." Haley froze. Everyone else started whistling and clapping. "So we're gonna let you guys go crazy, eat all the food. Just don't trash the place. Mom will get on my case if you do. And we're…we're gonna spend some time alone together before we head off to our honeymoon in the Bahamas."

Nathan put the microphone down and walked Haley toward the door. He passed by Deb and kissed her on the cheek.

Haley continued walking toward her family. Whitey was the first to hug her. "Honey, you know where I am. If you need me or even if you don't need me…call me."

"I promise." Haley said, hugging him again.

Haley turned and hugged Abby. "Send me lots of postcards." Abby said.

"I will. I promise."

Lastly, she turned and gave Jake a hug. "I am so glad you came."

"Haley, you're sure you're ok?"

"Yes, I am great. I'm fine." Haley smiled. "Can't you tell?"

"Yea. Have a good time on your honeymoon, ok."

Haley pulled Jake in for a hug. "What's this for?" Haley continued to hug him. "What's wrong?"

Haley pulled back. "Nothing. I just don't wanna let you go."

"Well, I didn't want to give you away. So we're even." Jake smiled. "I love you. You make a beautiful bride."

"Thank you."

* * *

Peyton and Chase were seated at one of the tables laughing and talking. They'd been doing it all day. "You are not what I thought, Chase." Peyton chuckled.

"I love to hear that."

"Do you have any nicknames?" Peyton asked.

"What do you mean? You mean like 'awesome'?" Chase joked.

"How about Brad?"

"Brad?" Chase asked, confused.

"Yea, I mean you look like a Brad. Um, would you like to accompany me to Tric tomorrow night?"

"You do know what I do, right? I mean for a living?"

"I don't care what you do. Right now, I may have a Brad. So?"

Chase thought for a second. "Ok. Why not?" Peyton smiled. "Eight o'clock?"

"Eight is perfect! Thank you!" Peyton said. Then she hurried over to Haley. She grabbed Haley's arm and turned Haley toward her. "Guess what? I have a Brad! I found a Brad!"

"Great. That's really great." She said sarcastically. She dropped her voice to a whisper. "Did you call the FBI?" Haley asked.

"Everything is kosher. I'm gonna be your go between. It's fine."

"Thank you." Haley said sincerely.

"Of course. So, this honeymoon of yours? You didn't tell me you were going on one of those."

"It's because I didn't know I was going on one."

"Well, you didn't seem too upset about it when you heard." Peyton pointed out.

"Well, I'm in this for the long haul. I told you that."

"Yea, I know you told me. But if I didn't know better I'd think this whole thing was real."

"What does that mean?"

"You. I mean, you're laughing and smiling all over the place. And that kiss! Whoo!" Peyton said, fanning herself.

"Peyton, I had to kiss him."

"Like that?"

Haley thought for a second. "Yea, I guess things are getting a little…real around here."

"A little? I don't think it's an act anymore. Haley?"

"Yea, you know what? I'm fine. I'm ok. And I know what I have to do."

Haley didn't give her a chance to respond. She walked away from her, looking for Nathan. She saw him standing next to Deb talking. When he saw her, he smiled and walked over to her. "So…" he began.

"Let's go upstairs."

"Now? You're ready?"

"Yea." Haley said, nodding.

Nathan grabbed her hand and turned to the guests. "Goodnight everybody!" A chorus of cheers and whistles followed.

Haley blushed as the two continued walking through the crowd to their bedroom.


	23. Chapter 22

Haley and Nathan walked into the bedroom and Nathan closed the door behind them. On their way to the room, Deb had stopped and given them an envelope filled with money. Haley was looking through it. "Look at all this money! These are $100 bills."

"Yea, it's just the way the family shows respect and love."

"Well, it sure is a lot. I mean, where does it come from?"

"It's just a tradition, Haley. Don't worry about it. It's fine." Nathan said, taking the envelope out of her hand and setting it on a table. "So you want some champagne?" Nathan asked as he pointed to the bottle his mother had set out.

"I'm ok. I'm fine." She answered.

"Ok. Well, it was really nice wedding. I'm really glad you decided to go through with it."

"Yea, me too."

"I know it can be kind of tense meeting the entire family all at one time."

"Not really. Why do you say that?" Haley asked.

"Well, you seemed a little…in a little bit of a rush to get out of there."

"Oh. I hope I wasn't rude."

"No, no, no, not at all. It's ok. You were perfect. You are perfect." Haley looked down, a little embarrassed by his comment. "Uh, do want to get changed or shower? I do." Nathan said, taking off his jacket.

Haley looked up. "You do? I mean…"

Why was this so awkward? Oh, because Haley was about to sleep with a man she wasn't in love with.

"Well, I'm ok." Nathan answered.

"Ok." Haley chuckled nervously.

"Right. Well, I guess we can just relax. Is there…I mean, is there anything special that you want to do?"

"Yes. As a matter of fact, there is." Haley said, unzipping the back of her dress. She let it fall to the floor and was standing in the slip that she wore under her dress. She took a step forward and brought her hands up to Nathan's vest and began unbuttoning it.

Nathan grabbed her hands, stopping her. "Are you sure?"

Haley nodded.

Nathan brought his face close to hers and kissed her. She was hesitant at first, but began to kiss back. When he heard her moan lightly, he brought his hands to her neck deepened the kiss and then began kissing down her neck.

Haley slightly pushed him away, stopping him. "What?" he asked.

"I'm sorry." She answered.

"What? What's the matter?"

"I'm sorry. I'm just tense. This day and…"

"Ok, it's ok. I understand."

"You do?"

"Yea. This is a big night and I don't wanna make you go too fast."

"Thank you." Haley said relieved.

"This is nothing to be taken casually. I know this is a big deal for you. It is for me too. I have an idea. I think I can help."

"How's that?"

"It'll help you relax and get rid of some of that tension. Sit down."

"Ok." Haley smiled as she walked toward the bed.

Haley sat down near the end of the bed and Nathan sat behind her. He placed his hands on her shoulders and began to give her a massage. "Just relax." He whispered. "I won't do anything to rush you. We have all the time in the world." He said, kissing her hair. "Why don't you lie down?"

Haley complied and lay down on her stomach. Nathan brushed her hair off of her back and kept massaging her shoulders. "Hey, remember that day we had to go meet with Father Thomas for our Pre Cana, to talk about all the things that we want in a marriage?"

"What about it?" Haley asked.

"You looked so miserable. You practically had your fingers crossed. And your toes."

"Seems like a long time ago." Haley commented.

"I know. And you thought that you hated me. But then you realized that we wanted the same things, that our dreams are pretty much the same."

"Nathan-"

"Wait, just let me finish. I was starting to think that we were not going to make it. That together there was no way that we were gonna have the kind of marriage that we both wanted with us at each other's throats all the time. I figured we were just doomed, doomed to go through the motions for the rest of our lives. But today…today something changed. We said our vows and I don't know. I saw something different in you. I felt it. I think you did too. And when we kissed, you kissed me back. It was real. And I thought, maybe we're gonna be ok. Maybe things are gonna work out and maybe our dreams really can come true."

Nathan stopped. He leaned down and began kissing up Haley's back and she closed her eyes.

When he got near her neck, he pulled on her shoulder to turn her over. She turned over slightly, but stopped him. "What?" Haley just looked at him. "What? You think I'm wrong about today?"

"No, no." Haley said, sitting up.

"I don't get it. Is the thought of being with me that repulsive?"

"No, no. Nathan, its' not that."

Nathan started to get off the bed. "You know what? Forget it. I'm sorry."

"No!" Haley tried to grab his arm to stop him, but he got off the bed and stood next to it.

"I am sorry. I…I'm sorry I made you sick." He turned and walked toward the door.

"Nathan, wait! Please!" But all she heard was the sound of the door closing. "What have I done?"

* * *

Haley had changed out of her wedding dress and was now in her nightgown and robe. She picked up the phone and dialed Peyton's number.

"_Hello?_" she heard her say.

"Peyton...this is terrible. I can't even believe what just happened."

"_What happened?_"

"We were in the bedroom and it started to get romantic."

"_Did you do it?_" Peyton asked. She didn't have to say what "it" was. Haley knew.

"No, not at all. Peyton, he was so sweet. He just kept talking about his feelings for me and I just felt so guilty."

"_Then you're not gonna like what I did._"

"What did you do?"

"_I called the FBI. I told them you were way in over your head, Haley_."

"What?! Well what are they gonna do?"

"_I was so worried about you, Haley. I didn't know what would happen. I knew you wouldn't do it and I didn't know what Nathan would do._"

"Great. Thanks for the vote of confidence, Peyton."

"_I'm sorry_."

"Alright, I better go."

"_Ok. Call me later_."

Haley and Peyton hung up the phone and she heard the bedroom door close. Haley turned to see Nathan walking in. "Nathan, listen-"

"No. Look, I'm sorry. I get it. I'm gonna sleep on the floor. God knows I'm used to it. So forget it."

Haley took a step closer to him. "You're wrong about what happened here, ok."

"Yea I am wrong. I was very wrong to think that you care about me. But it's ok."

"I do care about you, Nathan. Maybe it's the house, maybe it's your mother and the guys with the guns, but I…"

"Haley, this is your home. It's your home now. You don't need to be afraid."

"Can't we just go somewhere special for our wedding night? I really think we should get out of here." Haley asked, taking another step closer. She needed to get him out of the house before the FBI showed up.

"We can't go anywhere. Not now, it's too late."

"Why? This may be exactly what we need."

Nathan didn't a chance to answer. They both heard a man yelling. "Out of the way! Out of the way!"

Nathan hurried to the bedroom door. He opened it to see Bear trying to hold back two FBI agents, but they burst through the bedroom door. "Excuse me! Guys, come on! Who do you think you are barging in here? This is my wedding night, man." Nathan said.

"Agent Smith and Agent Daniels. FBI." One of the men said. "You and your wife are wanting for questioning."

Nathan walked over to Haley and stood next to her. "For what?"

"That's a federal matter." Agent Daniels answered.

"Such as?" Nathan asked.

"Could you step outside with me for a moment please?" Agent Daniels asked.

"Actually, no I can't step outside. Guys, come on. This is my wedding night; you guys barge into my bedroom. Do you have a search warrant?"

"Yea, Nathan. As a matter of fact, I do." Agent Daniels said, pulling it out of his coat pocket and handing it him. "Apparently you and your bride were seen receiving a very large sum of money earlier today. Now that could be a payoff, that could be money laundering-"

"Or it could be wedding gifts." Nathan offered. "You ever hear of that? It's a tradition in my family. We give money instead of gifts. There is nothing illegal about that. This is nuts and you know that."

"You know, we should just answer their questions." Haley spoke up.

"Why? Why should we do that?" Nathan asked, turning to face Haley.

"Because we didn't do anything wrong."

"This'll go a whole lot easier if you just cooperate." Agent Daniels said. "A few simple questions and we're out of here. Right Smith?"

"Scout's honor." Agent Smith said.

"I know you guys have been harassing me and harassing my family for as long as I can remember, but what does my wife have to do with any of this?"

"That's a very good question, Nathan." Deb said. Nathan and Haley turned to see Deb standing in the doorway of the bedroom. She walked in and stood near Nathan and Haley.

"Ok guys, can we just relax?" Nathan said. "This is a really special day for me and I don't want there to be any problems."

"It's a little late for that." Deb said, turning and staring at Haley. "What's next on your wish list?"

"Why do you keep looking at me?" Haley asked.

"You know why."

"You know, we just want to ask you a few questions." Agent Daniels said.

"Sure. Go ahead, ask." Nathan said. He wrapped his arm around Haley's waist.

"Separately." Agent Smith said.

"No, no, no. You cant' do that. I'll answer whatever you want, but leave my wife out of this. She's scared enough already."

"It's ok." Haley said.

"No, it's not ok."

"It's ok because if we can do this now, we can get it over with."

"Hey, Nathan. You heard her. Let's go." Agent Daniels ordered.

Nathan turned to Haley. "I'm sorry about this. I promise I will make it up to you." He whispered before following his mother and Agent Daniels out of the bedroom.

When the bedroom door closed, Agent Smith turned to her. "Ok let me tell you what this is really about."

"Yes please do."

"Your friend Peyton Sawyer called us. Something about you being forced into this marriage. Is that true?"

"Yes."

"She also said that you'd be willing to work with us and bust this family wide open."

"Yea, that's right."

"It might be too late for that. It's pretty clear that Deb Scott already suspects you, which could put your life in danger."

"You know, my life is already in danger. It's been in danger ever since I met this family and it keeps getting worse. I will do anything I have to do to bring Deb Scott to her knees."

"Do you know what you're in for here?" Agent Smith asked.

"It can't be any worse than what I'm going through right now."

"Trust me, it can get a whole hell of a lot worse."

"I don't care. Just tell me what you want me to do."

"Ok. We need proof of illegal activity. Names, dates, places the bodies are literally buried."

"I don't know if there's any bodies."

"Look, I don't want to scare you. This is hard, dangerous work. If you want out now just let me know."

Haley thought for a second. "No, I can't. I have to do this. I have to go through with it."

"Ok. We need a go between, a liaison. It can't be your friend Peyton."

"Why not? I mean she's willing to do it. She's sincere about it."

"Sincere gets you dead in this business. Besides it's too risky."

"Alright if you find somebody let me know, because Deb Scott took my life away and I would love to return the favor."

"You keep talking about Deb like she's your only problem."

"Yea, she is."

"I'm gonna give it to you straight. We take out Deb, we take out Nathan too."

* * *

Nathan and Deb stood outside the bedroom door waiting for Agent Smith to come out. Deb pulled Nathan away from Agent Daniels so that she could have a word with him. "Everything that agent is saying is garbage."

"Our lawyer will take care of it." Nathan assured his mother.

"Yea well they're not gonna take care of whoever is behind this."

"Mom."

"You know as well as I do that this is no coincidence. Why would the FBI barge in here unless someone called them?"

"They have been harassing this family forever and now all of a sudden you see a conspiracy?"

"At least _I_ see. Which is more than I can say for you."

"Haley would not do something like that." Nathan defended, knowing exactly what his mother meant. "And since when do you bad mouth a member of this family? Especially in front of law enforcement?"

"I know what I'm doing. I was looking for a reaction."

"At what cost? You know, you keep trying to implicate Haley's life and you are gonna put us all in danger."

* * *

Haley sat down on the edge of the bed. "Why Nathan? I mean of all the Scotts he's the least dangerous."

"Is that what he told you?" Agent Smith asked.

"No. Look, he's not like the rest of his family. At first you think he is, but now I-"

"But now you've seen the light."

"Look, I know what he's trying to do here. He went to college, he's trying to turn his family business around. He's trying to make it into a legitimate business venture."

"That's what they all say when they're young and coming up, but once they take over, each generation gets smarter and more ruthless."

"Nathan is different. He really is."

"Nathan's a bright guy. He's very slick and very polished. Don't kid yourself, Haley. When it comes down to protecting the family, he'll learn to kill just as easily as Deb. In their world, it's the price of doing business."

"No, no. Nathan's different. He's not like the rest of his family." Haley argued.

"Not yet. He hasn't had to be. But his day will come."

"No it won't." Haley was starting to get a little agitated. Who did Agent Smith think he was? She knew Nathan better than almost anyone.

"The idea here is to cut off the intended head of the family early on. Now, Deb is the present. Nathan is the future. We take them both out and we cut off the head of the family."

"Why can't it just be Deb's head? You said yourself that Nathan hasn't done anything yet, right?"

"You're the one that called us, Haley."

"I know, but-"

"You're the one that said you were forced into this marriage and that you wanted out. And now it's feeling like you're having a change of heart. Now it's feeling like maybe you've developed some sort of feelings for your husband."

Haley stood up quickly. "No. I just know him a little bit better than you guys do. That's all. Look, what you're suggesting does not seem right to me."

"The longer you stay in this family, the easier it is to become one of them. It's either Nathan or you. That's your choice."

Haley sat down again and thought. She didn't want to do it this way, but she had no other choice. "Well, if nailing Nathan is the only way to bring down the rest of the family, then I guess I have to do it."

"There can be no guessing here. Either you will or you won't."

"I will." Haley said.

"You've gotta keep remembering you're not his wife, you're his prisoner and this is your only means of escape."

Haley heard the bedroom door open. "I understand."

Nathan walked in and stood next to Haley. "Ok. So if you're done questioning my wife, I'd really love to get on with my honeymoon." Nathan wrapped his arm around Haley's waist.

"Maybe your wife will be a little more cooperative next time." Agent Smith said.

"Well, she doesn't know anything."

"Yea, sure." Agent Smith said before he walked out the bedroom door and shut it behind him.

When he heard the door closed, Nathan turned and faced Haley. "I'm sorry. Are you ok?"

"Yea I'm ok. It's just a little scary. I'm not really used to all that."

"I know. Look, I will never let something like this happen again. I won't let anything happen to you." Nathan pulled her into a hug. "I will protect you with my life. I promise."


	24. Chapter 23

Haley stood in a secluded part of the Scott Mansion. She didn't want to risk anyone hearing her phone call with Peyton. "Peyton, hi. I just wanted to let you know how it went last night with the FBI."

"_What happened?_" Peyton asked.

"Ok they showed up with a search warrant and pretended to investigate money laundering thing. So nobody even connected me to it. The only problem is that they want Nathan as much as they want Deb."

"_Why?_"

"They said that Nathan is the future of the Scott household and that he's just as ruthless as his mother and I-"

"_Well did you tell them he isn't?_"

"Yes. I tried to convince them that he's not as bad as she is and that she's the only one that's dangerous, but they wouldn't listen to me. Peyton, I feel really bad about Nathan. He's not the person they think he is. I know he's not."

* * *

Nathan and Deb stood in her office. Tom Locke, the family attorney, was sitting in a chair across from them. "Tom, thank you for coming over so early." Nathan said.

"No thanks necessary. As your family's attorney, I'm at your disposal any time. I would've been here earlier, last night in fact, if I had any idea that-"

"Government terrorists were invading our home?" Deb finished.

"Mom." Nathan reprimanded. He turned back to Tom. "The FBI, as we know, has curious timing. Tom, they had a search warrant."

"I know. There was a copy in my email this morning. Suspected money laundering, payoffs. Last night was a federal fishing expedition, nothing more."

"Someone is trying to make trouble for this family." Deb said.

"But we agree that it's not my wife Haley. Right, mom?"

"It's still very suspicious. Whoever tipped off the feds had to have been at the wedding and seen money being handed Nathan and Haley."

"I'm sure it was someone outside this family who's just trying to make trouble for us. That's all." Nathan said.

"Competing family perhaps?" Tom suggested.

"No. That's not the way business is done." Deb answered.

"Who then?"

"Haley's brother, Jake James." Deb said. "He's been against this wedding from the beginning despite his warm toast to the bride and groom."

"I'll look into it." Tom said, standing up to leave.

"That's not necessary." Nathan said, blocking Tom from leaving. "Tom, we don't need to bother Haley's family. They have nothing to do with what happened last night."

"Don't be so sure about this." Deb argued.

"Mom-"

"The FBI questioned Haley in private for quite some time."

"Of course they questioned her. She's my wife. She's part of this family."

"So you keep insisting."

Haley walked into the office and stopped when she saw the three of them. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realize you had company."

"Come in, Haley." Deb said. "This is Mr. Locke, our family attorney."

Haley walked over to them and stuck out her hand to shake Tom's hand. "Nice to meet you." When he didn't grab it, she awkwardly put it back down at her side.

"He would like to ask you some questions about what happened last night. To see whether you have any idea who might have turned us into the FBI."

"I would be happy to answer any of Mr. Locke's questions. As a member of the family now I'd like to do anything I can to help."

Nathan walked over to her and placed his hands on her arms. "Haley, we all appreciate you wanting to help, but it's not gonna be necessary." Nathan said.

"I disagree." Deb said.

"Mom, Haley spent last night being interrogated by the FBI. I'm not gonna let her be grilled by our attorney. She needs to feel comfortable in her own home."

"Hey, it's ok." Haley assured him.

"No. You don't know anything. It doesn't concern you."

"The preservation of this family always concerns me, Nathan." Deb gritted. "Well, I have errands to do and someone to visit this morning." Deb grabbed her purse and walked around her desk to Tom. "Tom, shall we have dinner later?"

"Whatever you say, Deb."

"Until tonight then."

Deb walked past the couple to the door. "Bye, mom." Nathan said.

"Hey, it's ok." Haley said again, trying to talk to Mr. Locke.

"No-"

But Haley continued. "What is it that you would like to know?"

"Haley, I told you-"

"Nathan, it's ok." Haley said, placing her hand on his cheek. She took a seat across from Mr. Locke and smiled.

"Do you have any idea who may have called the FBI?" Tom asked. "Can you think of anyone who would want to embarrass the Scott family?

"Your guess is as good as mine."

"Mrs. Scott said that the FBI questioned you alone for quite some time."

"That's right." Haley nodded.

"What did they ask you? And more importantly, what did you tell them?"

"The agents basically wanted me to answer who I was, where I came from, how long I've known Nathan, stuff like that."

"What do you mean by 'stuff'?"

"They asked me if I knew how the Scott family operated."

"And what did you tell them?"

"The truth." Tom sat up straighter in his chair and Haley continued. "I told them that even though I'm Nathan's _wife_, I am completely clueless about the family business. I have no idea what goes on around here and I don't really think I want to know."

"Ok. Are we good? Tom?" Nathan asked.

"Frankly, no. The FBI was with Haley for quite some time. I'd say she has about 10 minutes of questioning to account for."

"I say she doesn't. Come on." Nathan said. "I think we've done enough today. Look, I'll call you later and we can work this out. Thank you."

Tom stood up and shook Nathan's hand. He gave Haley a look as he walked out the office doors.

"Look, I'm sorry about all of that. My mother is just on a mission about what happened last night. She just wants to make sure this isn't gonna happen again."

"Yea I understand."

"Ok."

"You know, those agents really scared me last night."

"Forget them. It's over, ok."

"Is it? Mr. Locke seems to think that I turned you guys in."

"He doesn't know you yet, he's a lawyer, he doesn't trust anybody."

"I must have looked like a big idiot to those agents last night. I mean, they thought I was lying."

"Ok, tell you what. From now on if anyone asks you about our family business, you can just tell them that we're into security."

"Security?"

"Yea, protection. Basically we do what the cops should do. But we just do it for a price, a fee."

"Ok."

Haley was about to ask some more questions when Bear walked into the room. "Sorry for the interruption, but Nathan has a visitor."

"Who?"

"Mrs. Silva is back. When I told her your mother wasn't here, she begged to see you."

Nathan sighed. "Ok, fine. Send her in." He looked at Haley. "I'm sorry. You're gonna have to excuse me. This is business."

"Alright. I understand."

Bear walked in with a woman behind him. Haley assumed it was Mrs. Silva. "Oh thank you! Thank you, Mr. Scott. You're my last hope."

"Can I get you anything, Mrs. Silva?" Nathan asked.

Haley continued to listen as she stood outside the office door.

"No thank you. If my husband knew I was here he would be so angry."

"Mrs. Silva, I'm gonna have to stop you. I think you're just gonna have to wait for my mother to get back. She runs the business here, not me."

"I tried to talk to her, she wouldn't listen. I was hoping that you would understand my situation and give me more time."

"Mrs. Silva, is this about making a payment?" She began to sob and sat down in the chair across from Deb's desk. "Mrs. Silva, are you ok?"

"I'm sorry."

"It's ok."

"I didn't mean to cry."

"I know. It's ok. Why don't you tell me what's on your mind."

She took a moment to collect herself. "It's true. I did come to see you about the payment and ask for more time. My husband fell down the stairs and hurt his back."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"And so I shut down the store for a few days to take care of him and that's why we we're late with the payment."

"Mrs. Silva, I understand your situation, but you have to understand our position. Now you and your husband came to us to ask our family for help."

"Yes. The store was broken into five times before your family started protecting it. It has been wonderful. It was everything Mrs. Scott promised. We want your family to protect us, but it's just that I'm asking for more time so that we can come up with the money that we owe you. It's so much every month. And now with my husband injured-"

"Ok, Mrs. Silva, I understand that you're in a difficult situation. And I'm sorry for your problems. But there's nothing I can do for you. A deal is a deal."

Mrs. Silva stood up. "I heard you were different than your mother, that you were not cold and unfeeling, that you had compassion."

"I do, Mrs. Silva. But this is a business. You and your husband have an obligation and my family expects you to fulfill it."

"A few more days. That's all I'm asking!" She continued.

"He has other business he needs to attend to." Bear said.

"Thank you for coming by, Mrs. Silva. I'll be sure to tell my mother you were here." Nathan said as he headed out the side door of Deb's office.

"Oh please don't! She'll know that I went behind her back!" She pleaded.

Bear grabbed her by the arm. "Get out. And don't ever come back here begging for more time. You hear me? Deb told you what would happen to you and your husband what would happen if you didn't come up with the cash. And she meant it."

"But my husband, our business-"

"You're not gonna have a husband or a business if you don't pay in full and on time. Now get out."

* * *

During the conversation between Nathan and Mrs. Silva, Haley had gone to their bedroom and grabbed the envelope of money they had received last night. She stood next to the front door, waiting for Mrs. Silva to pass her so that she could give her the money.

She heard Deb's office door open and close. When Mrs. Silva walked by her, she lightly grabbed her arm. "Mrs. Silva?"

"Yes?" she asked.

Haley handed her the money. "I want you to take this money. Please take it. Bring it back to the family and pay them what you owe."

"Thank you so much. But who are you to do this for me?"

"I'm Nathan's wife. You have to promise me that you won't tell anyone that I gave you this money. Do you understand?"

"Yes. But how can I ever repay your kindness?"

"You can talk to me. You can tell me everything. I need you to tell me everything the Scott family has done to you."

* * *

A few days later, Deb and Nathan were having lunch. Deb had heard about Mrs. Silva's visit and wanted to get to the bottom of it.

"I'm glad you could have lunch with me, Nathan. It gives us time to discuss business."

Nathan sighed. "Come on. I was hoping we could get through one meal without arguing."

"I don't wanna argue with you, Nathan. But I am curious as to what happened between you and Mrs. Silva the other day. Bear told me she came to see you."

"Yea, so Mrs. Silva came to see me. So what?"

"Well?"

"What?"

"Did you help her?" Deb asked.

"No. I felt sorry for her. But I told her a deal is a deal and that she had to pay us on time. You can ask Bear if you don't believe me."

"I believe you. I just don't understand how she got the money so quickly."

"What do you mean? She paid up?"

"That day, yes."

"Ok, so what's the problem?" Nathan asked, confused.

"The point is, strange things have been happening. The least of which, the FBI showing up at our door with a search warrant just hours after your wedding with Haley. Someone is trying to make trouble for this family, Nathan."

"I know, mom."

"The question is who."

"We agreed it's not Haley, didn't we?"

"I didn't want to argue with you in front of our family lawyer, but it's clear that things started happening the day you brought Haley James into our home."

"Her name is Haley Scott." Nathan said, looking his mother straight in the eyes. He was starting to get tired of her attitude toward Haley.

"Even worse. The fact that she is a Scott means that a member of our own family is working against us."

"It's not Haley."

"You're wrong, Nathan. I'd bet my life on it."

"Look, Haley did not turn us into the FBI. She's not going to."

"You're being naïve."

"And you're being paranoid. I trust Haley. I trust her with my life."

"Oh really?"

"Yea."

"Should I remind you that she cost your brother his life?"

"How many times do we have to do this? She was defending herself."

"And I'm defending what's left of this family. I lost one son already. I'll be damned if I let this girl take the rest of us down."

"This girl is my wife. And she is the future of this family. Her children, _our_ children are the next Scott generation. Don't you ever forget that."

* * *

Haley quietly walked into the back of the church. She and Mrs. Silva had agreed to meet there to talk about the Scott family. She saw Mrs. Silva sitting on the front row pew. Haley walked over and sat on the pew behind her. "Mrs. Silva?"

She turned around. "Hello."

"Hi. So this is your church?"

"Yes. It's a small church, but it's very strong. My husband and I were married here. We had some many dreams then, so much hope and now…"

"Um, I'm really glad you decided to meet me."

"I'm grateful for the money that you lent us so that I could pay the debt to the Scott family. But I talked it over with my husband and…"

"And what? Please tell me."

"We think it was a mistake to take anything from you."

"No, Mrs. Silva-"

"My husband feels that we should talk to Nathan and tell him that we took the money from you."

Haley panicked. "No. You can't do that."

"We appreciate what you did for us, Mrs. Scott. But my husband and I are afraid. We don't want to get anymore involved with your family than we already are."

"I don't blame you."

"Then why don't you want Nathan to know the truth?"

"Honestly, Nathan and I haven't really been married all that long. And there are a lot of things about him that I really don't understand. A lot of things he says, a lot of things he does. And until I do understand him, I would rather there not be any problems between us."

"I see you have a very difficult situation."

"You have no idea."

"And I wish I could help you. But I don't know Nathan very well except for the few times he came into our store. He seemed nice, warm-hearted, not like the others. But then again, it's hard to know the truth about a family who has so much to hide."

"That's exactly how I feel. They have so many secrets and they just keep them all to themselves."

"Not all of them."

"What do you mean?" Haley asked.

"Well it's not secret how they run their protection business."

"It is to me." Haley pushed, hoping to get more out of her.

"You're Nathan's wife and you still don't know how they work?"

"Well he doesn't really talk about it that much. I told you he's really quiet, he doesn't…" She took a breath, gathering her thoughts. "I really think it would help me understand Nathan better if you could tell me about their family and how their protection business works."

"No, I couldn't."

"Mrs. Silva, please. I want to be a better wife to Nathan. I really do. But I can't do that if you don't help me. I need to know everything about him."

"Alright, I'll tell you." Mrs. Silva took a deep breath and then began. "My husband and I own a small store. For years everything was fine. And all of a sudden we were robbed five times in less than a month. That is when Damien Scott comes into our store and he tells us that his family can protect us for a price. We have no choice. We either pay up or lose everything."

"So you paid." Haley guessed.

"We didn't want to, but then it became a way of life. That is until my husband fell and hurt his back."

"And you couldn't care for him and take care of the store at the same time." Haley guessed again.

"Well, the business fell off and there was no money. We couldn't meet our payment. That's when you helped us, Haley. But there are many others who are at the mercy of your family."

"Who? Can you give me any names?"

"I can, but that's not going to help your marriage. If you love Nathan the way you say you do, knowing too much can only hurt you."

"Mrs. Silva, I think I can help Nathan get out of the business that he's in. But I need you to help me first."


	25. Chapter 24

"_And I'm defending what's left of this family. I lost one son already. I'll be damned if I let this girl take the rest of us down."_

"_This girl is my wife. And she is the future of this family. Her children, our children are the next Scott generation. Don't you ever forget that."_

"You think you're the only one with dreams. Your great-great grandfather came here with nothing. His dream was to have his son, your great grandfather, turn this family into a force to be reckoned with. And he did. It wasn't easy being a Scott in a town filled with families like the James and the Bakers. But your great grandfather never gave up. And he never let anyone in this family give up either. And neither did your grandfather or your father. Even as your father lay dying in my arms cut down by ruthless men, he told me to do whatever it took to survive. And that's what I did. I swore to him I would. I took a vow that I would keep this family as strong as he did. I made a life for you, your brother, your sister and all your cousins. It's what good families do for one another."

"I know, mom. I know. And I can be ruthless for this family but only if I do it my way. Legitimately and within the law."

"Do me one favor? Just one."

"What?"

"I'll accept Haley as your wife if you give her one final test to prove her worthiness. The best way to test Haley is to let her think that she knows something that could hurt us."

"You mean set her up."

"It won't be a set up unless the information gets somewhere, like the FBI. If it doesn't, then we'll know that Haley is fit to be a true Scott."

Nathan leaned in closer to Deb. "Over my dead body. You will do nothing against my wife. Do you understand me? If you do, you will lose the only son you have left. Mom, Haley is my wife. We were married in front of you and our families and friends. What we have is sacred and I demand that you respect that."

"You demand?!"

"Yea. We may live under your roof, but this is our home too. And I will not have anyone in my home trying to sabotage my wife or my marriage. Is that clear?"

"It is clear that Haley has affected your judgment."

"Mom, I am as loyal to you as ever was. I understand the importance of family, I am not blinded by love. But I'm not heartless either. I believed Haley when she told me what happened with Damien. I believe that he attacked her and I believe that she was defending herself. And if I thought for one moment that she was lying and that she murdered Damien, I would've done what needed to be done. But that's not how it was."

"Well, we'll never know, will we?"

"I know. _I_ know."

"You're confusing feelings with facts."

"No, not this time and not about this. Believe me, if I thought anyone, including my wife betrayed our family, then I would take the same revenge that you or dad would. Like that." Nathan stood up to leave. He began putting on his jacket.

"Very well then, Nathan. Forget what I said. We'll do it your way…for now."

"Ok." Was all he said as he left the restaurant.

* * *

"_Mrs. Silva, I think I can help Nathan get out of the business that he's in. But I need you to help me first."_

Mrs. Silva thought for a moment. "John Walsh, Herman Rosenberg, Mark and Susan Kidd. All of these people pay protection money to the Scott family."

"Thank you, Mrs. Silva. You have been a huge help. And you know, you can tell your husband not to worry because nothing bad is gonna happen to your family again."

"I hope I did the right thing."

"You did. You have. I mean thanks to you I can help Nathan get his family into a legitimate business. That's something he really wants to do. It's just…it's Deb and Bear that wanna keep things the way they are."

"I admire you, Haley. It takes a lot of love to do what you're doing."

"The man I love is more than worth it. Just promise me that you're not gonna tell anyone what I'm trying to do."

"You have my word." Mrs. Silva stood up and turned to Haley. Haley stood up as well. "And thank you for lending us the money. There is a special place in heaven for you, my dear. God bless you." Mrs. Silva walked away from Haley toward the door. Haley was still facing the front of the church. "Good evening, Father." She heard Mrs. Silva say on her way out.

"How you doing, Mrs. Silva?" she heard Chase say.

Haley's eyes got wide. She slowly turned around to face Chase. "Hi, Chase."

"Hey, Haley. You know, Mrs. Silva is one of our most loyal members. I didn't realize the two of you knew each other so well."

"We don't. I just…I sort of bumped into her when I came here to pray."

"You're not Catholic." Chase pointed out.

"No I'm not. I just…the church looked really inviting when I drove by. So I just thought I'd stop in and meditate."

"Look, Haley, I'm not gonna lie to you. I heard Mrs. Silva thank you for money."

"Ok, well see she-"

"Listen, you didn't just bump into Mrs. Silva and you didn't just stop in to meditate. Now you can tell me the truth or not, it's up to you."

"Well I met her at the house and she was in a bind so I decided to help her out. That's what we're supposed to do for people, right?"

"Yea. Why do you feel so guilty about it?" Chase asked.

"I don't feel guilty about it. Honestly, I'm a little bit nervous that if Nathan finds out about this then he's gonna get really upset."

"Haley, I know my cousin. You don't have to worry about him. Listen, you don't have to worry about Nathan at all."

"Who's worried about Nathan?" Haley heard Nathan say.

"Nate!" Chase said, turning to face his cousin. "You really lucked out when you married Haley. You found yourself a very kind and generous girl."

"Well, yea. I know." Nathan said. "Where exactly is all this praise coming from, Chase?"

"I was actually telling Chase about the other week when um…um…" Haley began.

"That's ok, Haley. Let him finish. I love to hear good things about my wife."

"Good? What she did was incredible."

"Chase, please stop. You're embarrassing me." Haley said.

But Chase continued. "She was afraid that when you found out you'd be upset. But I told her not to worry."

"Chase, I'm really, really begging here." Haley said.

"It's ok, Haley. A member of our church, Mrs. Silva, was in desperate need to money. And Haley helped her out. She gave her her own money. Nate, isn't that something?"

Nathan eyed Haley. He pieced it together. She was the reason Mrs. Silva paid on time. "Yea, it's really something. You know Mrs. Silva?"

"No, I wouldn't say that I know her."

Nathan walked toward Haley and stood directly in front of her. "Well then I don't understand. You must have met her."

"Yea I did."

"Where?"

"I met her at your house. Remember when she came to see you? I was there."

"Yea, for about 2 seconds."

"And then I saw her leaving and she looked really upset so I asked her what was wrong. And she told me about her husband hurting his back and that there wasn't enough money to pay all of the bills. So I just lent her some."

"So a woman who you just met, you hardly know, gave you a sob story and you just handed over a wad of cash?"

"Yea basically."

"No, there's more to this. There's something you're not telling me. And I want to know what it is, Haley. Now."

"Nate, have you become so cynical that you can't accept Haley's gesture for what it is?" Chase asked.

"Chase, stay out of this." Nathan warned. "Where'd you get the cash?"

"I used…I used some of our wedding money."

"I don't believe you! How…"

"Our marriage is a partnership, right? That money was half mine."

"Nate, it's not like you're hurting for money." Chase said.

"I'm telling you, stay out of this, Chase."

"What is the matter with you? Why are you getting so bent out of shape?" Chase asked.

Nathan turned to his cousin. "Look, I wanna talk to my wife, alone."

"It was nice running into you, Haley." Chase said.

"You too." Haley said, walking to him and quickly hugging him.

"I hope to see you again." Chase gave his cousin a look as he left the couple alone.

"What's the problem, Nathan?" Haley asked, turning back to face him.

"What's the problem?! Why were you meeting Mrs. Silva today? Here?"

"Cause she asked me to. She wanted to thank me."

"She wanted to thank you? That's all?"

"Yea. She wanted to light a candle for me and she wanted…is that a problem? Why are you blowing this out of proportion?"

Nathan walked to Haley. "Because you keep interfering, Haley! You keep sticking your nose in where you don't belong!"

"What do you mean where I don't belong?"

"Mrs. Silva is a client."

"What does that mean?!" Haley was getting frustrated now too.

"That means that she and her husband own a little store in a not-so-nice neighborhood. They've been having break-ins. We've been protecting them. She paid for that debt with the money that you gave her, Haley! Our money! She made a fool out of us! _You_ made a fool out of me!"

"Oh." Was all Haley could say.

"Oh? Oh?"

"I'm sorry."

"You're sorry?"

"I'm sorry. I didn't know."

"You didn't know? You had no idea?"

"She didn't tell me what the money was for."

"Really? Is that so?"

"Yea and she didn't tell me anything about your business, if that's what you're worried about."

Nathan took a breath. "Was she here? Did she just leave?"

"Yea."

"Ok come one. We're gonna go have a little chat. We're gonna go catch her."

"What? Why?"

"We're gonna find out what you told her about the Scott business!"

"No!" she yelled forcefully.

"No? What's the matter, Haley?"

"Nothing."

"Then why are you stalling?"

"I'm not stalling."

"Why are you so afraid of me talking to Mrs. Silva?"

"I'm not afraid of you speaking with her. I'm just-"

"Come on! You're scared. You're like a little jack rabbit."

"This is not about Mrs. Silva."

Haley turned her back to Nathan. But he grabbed her arm and turned her to him. "Oh no? Do you think that I am just an idiot? Do you?"

"Why are you doing this?"

"What? What am I doing, Haley? What am I doing?"

"You're questioning me. You're grilling me like I'm one of your clients." Haley yanked her arm out of his grasp. "You're trying to trip me up here."

"I'm not trying to trip you up. You are doing it all by yourself. I am trying to figure out who…who you are, who I'm married to."

"Me! Haley James Scott! I'm your wife."

"Are you? I came here to see my cousin and I find out that you're having some sort of secret meeting-"

"It wasn't secret."

"You were talking with one of our clients, Haley!"

"I told you I didn't know she was a client."

"I know. I heard what you said. I heard you. So what am I supposed to think?"

"You're supposed to believe me. You're supposed to remember our wedding day and our vows to _trust_ each other. Will you just remember the way that we looked at each other and the way that we kissed?" Haley took a step closer to Nathan. "I felt something. I know you did."

"Haley-"

"Do you really think that I would just betray that feeling, that I would just throw it away? Why would I do something like that? We have something. You know that we do and I know that I've tried to deny it for a very long time." Haley brought her hand up to his cheek. "But it's there. And it's this chemistry. And it's not like anything I've ever felt before. Can we please just stop this? Can we please just go home?"

Haley stood taller and kissed him. It was a light kiss, but he kissed her back. When he pulled away, he kissed her forehead. "Let's go. Let's get out of here."

Nathan grabbed her hand and led her out of the church.

* * *

Nathan shut the door behind him as they walked into their bedroom. Haley had been quiet the whole way home. "Haley, is everything ok?"

"Yea, it's fine."

"Well, you haven't said a word since we left the church."

Haley stopped and turned to face him. "I just wasn't in the mood to talk. Sorry."

A knock on their bedroom door stopped the conversation. "Hold on." He said walking to the door. Bear stood on the other side of the door. "What? What do you want?" Nathan asked, not in the mood to deal with Bear.

"I'd like a word with you in private."

Nathan sighed. "Alright, hold on." Nathan stuck his head back in the room. "I'll be right back, ok."

Haley nodded. When he shut the door, she quickly walked over to the door to listen to the conversation.

Outside the door Nathan and Bear chatted. "What? What's up?" Nathan asked.

"She gave me the slip tonight."

"Who?"

"Haley. I thought you should know."

"I thought I told you that your surveillance wasn't necessary."

"Listen, Nathan-"

"I thought I told you to stop following her around."

"The boss told me-"

"I don't care what the boss said! I don't care! Stop following Haley. Stop spying on her. Clear? Just get out of my sight."

Bear didn't say a word. He just walked away.

Haley quickly walked back over to the spot she was standing in before Nathan had closed the door so that he wouldn't know she had been listening. Nathan shut the door again when he came in. He walked over to stand in front of her. "Sorry about that."

"Let me guess. Bear is upset because I lost him. Sorry. I figured if he saw me with Mrs. Silva he would think the same thing that you did. So…"

"What's that? That you're working against us? That you're working against the family? I hope to God that's not true, Haley."

"You honestly think that I'm working against you and your family? Nathan, you saved my life!"

"Yea, so?"

"So?!"

"What is that supposed to mean, Haley? That you've embraced your life now? That you've become a Scott?" Nathan began taking off his jacket and loosening his tie.

"Well, it's not exactly the life I would've chosen, but I'm still alive. That's because of you."

"So you're grateful?"

"What I'm feeling is more than gratitude." Haley took a step closer to Nathan. "Do you honestly think I would do anything to hurt you?"

"I don't know. I wanna trust you."

"I wanna trust you too." Haley said honestly. Haley smiled as she continued. "I wanna be close to you, Nathan. I want us to start out as any other couple who just got married." Haley brought her hands up to the collar of his shirt and began playing with it. "Just think about our wedding day. The priest has just pronounced us husband and wife. You may kiss your bride."

Nathan lowered his head and kissed her. It was slow at first, but Haley brought her hands up to his face. He deepened the kiss and wrapped his arms around her waist, bringing her closer to him. They continued to kiss as Nathan scooped her up and carried her to the bed. Haley unbuttoned his shirt as he walked.


	26. Chapter 25

Nathan and Haley both kneeled on the bed. The two continued kissing. Haley had unbuttoned Nathan's entire shirt. Haley couldn't believe what was happening. One second she was trying to keep Nathan from thinking about Mrs. Silva and the next they were kissing. And God, he was a good kisser. Nathan began kissing down Haley's neck. Haley was having a hard time keeping her eyes open. It felt so good.

Nathan pulled back and began unbuttoning her blouse. He would kiss her every few seconds. "You ok?" he asked.

"Mmmhmm."

Nathan leaned down and kissed her again. When he had unbuttoned her blouse he pulled it off of her and left her in her camisole. He kissed down her neck again and then the top of her exposed chest. Haley pushed his shirt off of his shoulders as they continued to kiss. He moaned in her mouth when she raked her nails across his shoulder blades.

Nathan slowly brought them down to the bed. He was on top of Haley as they continued kissing. Suddenly Haley stopped. She couldn't do it. "Wait." She said, slightly pushing him off of her.

"What?" Nathan looked at Haley. "Damn it!" Nathan sat up and looked at her confused "I thought you were ready to be my wife."

"I am." Haley said, trying to pull him back down.

"No, you don't want me."

"Yes I do." Haley sat up and tried to pull him back down.

"Stop. You're just pretending. Don't lie to me." Nathan pushed her away from him and stood up. "Stop lying to me. Don't lie to me anymore. This is…I'm sorry. This is me. It's my fault. It's me. We almost did something that you don't really want to do." Nathan picked up his shirt and put it on. "And it's turning me into something that I swore I would never become."

Nathan didn't give her a chance to respond. He walked away from her and out the door.

* * *

The next morning Haley was sitting in the living room drinking coffee. Yesterday had been a complete disaster. First she was almost caught by Chase and Nathan about giving money to Mrs. Silva and then the _thing _with her and Nathan. The thing. What had that been? Haley couldn't believe how easy it was to let go and kiss him like that. Everything about her relationship with Nathan was becoming easier and more comfortable. And the scared her a little bit. She didn't want it to be easy because that meant it would become easier to have feelings for him. And that was something she didn't want to happen.

Nathan hadn't come back in the room the rest of the night. Haley wondered where he slept. She didn't want to admit it to herself, but she didn't sleep well with him not there.

Haley heard footsteps approaching and Nathan walked in with a bouquet of little purple flowers in his hands. "Hey. There you are. I've been looking all over for you."

Haley stood up when he approached her. "Hi."

"Hi. Look, I wanted to apologize for last night for taking off like that."

Haley looked at the flowers. "Are those for me?"

"What these? Yea. Look, I'm sorry." He handed her the flowers. "I don't want you to think that I would ever force myself on you, because I wouldn't. Are you ok about what happened?"

"Thank you for these and I am fine. I just want to tell you that, it's not all your fault. And I sort of led you on, not intentionally, but…"

"Look, this situation is difficult for both of us. I know that. And being trapped in a marriage that is far from perfect is…you said it yourself. We barely know each other, right? I guess I just think we should try to make something worthwhile out of this."

"Yea, so do I. I just think that the thing that's drawing the wedge between us is the fact that we're not trusting each other. We really need to start doing that."

"I know. Trust is just a tough one for me. Especially coming from this family."

"Yea. But it's really the only thing that's gonna make this work."

"You're right. You're absolutely right. If I can't trust my own wife then…well, things are just never gonna work with us, right?"

"Come here." Haley pulled him into a hug.

Nathan didn't want to have to do this, but he knew he had to. He pulled away and went to sit on one of the couches. Haley followed him.

"Ok so if we're gonna start trusting each other then I guess I have to tell you who I really am. What I really do." Nathan looked at Haley. "You know, I'm trusting you with my life if I tell you what I'm about to tell you. Kind of like how you trusted me with your life when you married me."

"Yea I realize that."

"Good. I know you think that what I do, what the family does is nothing to be proud of, but we do a lot of good things for the community. Did you know that we fund a shelter for homeless kids to keep them off the street?"

"No, I didn't. That's great."

"Yea we just built another shelter over on 8th street."

"But that's not your real business, is it?"

"No. You know, I really didn't want to get into that before. Not just to protect my family, but to protect you. I told you that the less you know the safer you are."

"I know what you told me. But, Nathan, I'm your wife."

"Ok, so I'm stalling."

"Yes, you're stalling. Come on." Nathan smiled at her. "I can handle this. I just need to know the truth."

"Ok, the truth. Well, we're diversified. Like many companies, we have our hands in many things. We have a hand in the waste management business, we have a hand in the track, the import business, stuff like that. So on and so forth."

"So on and so forth means?" Haley pressed. She wasn't about to let up on this conversation.

"Ok. Take the import business. For example, we've got a shipment coming in tomorrow of goods. It's clothing. But also hidden in that shipment will be about several thousand Cuban cigars. Now, importing Cuban cigars is illegal. Did you know that?"

"Yea. Yea, right."

"Not that smoking cigars is illegal, but it has to do with politics basically. And I'm telling you, one day the situation will change and you'll be able to get a Cuban cigar at any neighborhood store. So tomorrow, although we're technically committing a federal crime, we're really just dancing around today's political climate bringing to our customers what they want, when they want it."

"Oh I see."

"Some people think of us a entrepreneurs. Really, it's very innovative. Others choose to call us criminals. Do you understand?"

"Sure."

"You do? Really?"

"Yea, yea. Of course I understand."

"Good." Nathan noticed that she was still in her robe. "Do you want to get dressed? I mean would you feel more comfortable talking…dressed?" Nathan smiled.

"Yea, if you wouldn't mind."

"No, not at all. We'll continue this later." Nathan leaned forward and kissed her forehead.

Nathan stood up and walked out, heading for Deb's office. Once he was in there, he checked to make sure Deb wasn't around.

When he saw he was alone, he picked up the phone and dialed a number.

He waited a few seconds and the person on the other line picked up. "Hey, it's Nathan. Listen, that shipment coming in tomorrow, you make sure it is totally legal. You understand? It better be completely clean or you're through…ok."

* * *

Nathan sat at his mother's desk doing some paperwork. He was waiting for Haley to get back from getting ready. When he heard the office door open he looked up. "Hey. You look nice."

"Thank you." She said, walking to stand across from him.

"What's up?"

"Well, you were telling me about the family business."

"Right. About that shipment coming in tomorrow." Nathan played dumb. "Sit down." Haley sat. "Listen, like I said, the family doesn't consider importing cigars to be a criminal act, but obviously the government sees it a little differently. And they're looking for every opportunity to bring this family down anyway they can. So…I could go to prison for something that's really not hurting anyone. Doesn't really make a whole lot of sense, does it?"

"No, you're right."

"About what?"

"It doesn't make any sense, at all."

"Good. I'm glad you can see that."

"Listen, I'm really glad we had this talk." Haley said.

"Me too. I feel closer to you." Nathan stood up and came around to the other side of the desk. Haley stood up as well. "Listen, what we did talk about, try to erase it from your memory. And try to keep it between us, ok."

"Thanks."

"For what?"

"For confiding in me. Thank you." Haley said, pulling him into a hug.

"Just try to forget and keep it between us. Promise me you'll do that." He waited for her to answer. "Haley?"

"Yea, yea. Of course, I promise."

"Ok." Nathan pulled away. "I've gotta take off and take care of some things. Ok?"

"Sure. See you later."

Nathan smiled at her as he left the room.

When he was out the door, Haley let out a breath. "You have to do it. You have to call the FBI, Haley. You have to do this."

Outside the room Nathan let out a breath as well. "Oh God, Haley. Please don't betray me."

* * *

Nathan and Haley walked into Tric together. Haley spotted Peyton behind the bar, setting up for the night and headed over to her. Peyton smiled when she saw the two walking over. "Hello, newlyweds." Peyton said.

"Nathan was nice enough to drive me over." Haley said, taking off her jacket and sitting down in one of the chairs by the bar.

"Yea, I know Haley isn't too crazy about being chauffeured around by Bear." Nathan said, checking his phone. "Listen, I gotta make a phone call. But then can we get some breakfast? I'm starving." Nathan leaned in a kissed Haley before he walked away to make his phone call.

Haley made sure Nathan was outside and then looked at Peyton. "Ok, so Nathan told me about some illegal imports coming into the country tonight."

"Drugs?"

"No, Cuban cigars."

"Those aren't illegal."

"Yes, they are."

"They are?"

"They are. But it doesn't matter because anything, even if it's small, is something the FBI can use to pressure people to talk about bigger crimes they've committed."

"Yea, like holding you hostage."

"And murder, and extortion and anything else that Deb Scott can get her hands on."

"And Nathan too." Peyton added.

"What?"

"Nathan. You know, she goes down, he goes down with her?"

Nathan walked up behind them, done with his phone call. "Hey, you guys talking about me?" he joked.

"Of course." Haley said, playing along.

Nathan kissed the side of Haley's head and looked at her. "Listen, something's come up and I gotta take off. You want me to take you home first?"

"No, I'm gonna hang out with Peyton for a little bit."

"Don't worry, I'll make sure she takes a cab." Peyton chuckled.

"Is that ok?" Haley asked.

"Yea, of course. You're not my prisoner. You know that. So I'll just see you later. Ok?" Nathan kissed the side of her head again and walked away from them.

Once Nathan was out of the door, Peyton looked at Haley. "Ok, are you sure you wanna do this, Haley?"

"Yes, I have to. I am a prisoner in that house."

"Yea, you are. But you're starting to have feelings for your jailer, aren't you?"

"Nathan…Nathan is…"

"What?"

"You know what? This is an act. You know that. You know that I'm just pretending to like him so that he'll talk to me and trust me." Haley argued.

"Right. You don't feel guilty at all? You don't feel bad about sending him to jail?"

"Why are you giving me a hard time about this, Peyton?" Peyton didn't answer her. "Oh, I get it. You think this is about Nathan and Lucas. You think that once I leave Nathan, I'm gonna go back to Lucas."

"Oh, come on! Give me some credit here. I am worried about you, ok."

"You're worried about me?"

"Yes. Because I know I'm right about what I see with you and Nathan. I know it."

"Peyton-"

"This is not a great act, ok. I've seen the two of you together. I saw the way you reacted when he kissed you, Haley. I've seen that stupid, ridiculous smile you have on your face every time you're with him. He is getting to you. Why can't you admit that?"

Haley sighed. "You're right. I mean he definitely has his moments when I forget who he is and I forget his family. And when we're alone, I definitely feel guilty about what I'm doing. But the truth is that he is no different than his brother Damien. He just happens to be better at hiding it. Ok, he is different than his brother. Or at least he could be if he got rid of his mother. She's driving me…Peyton, I don't know. I don't know how to do this, because it's not like he can choose or he can decide where he's from or who his family is. But it's not like I can live like this for the rest of my life. It's him or me, Peyton. It really is."

"Ok. I will call the FBI under one condition."

"What?"

"That you be careful. Because if he finds out what you're doing, he is gonna come after you. It's like you said, Haley. He can't help who he is."

* * *

Nathan sat next to his grandmother in the living room. He had stopped off at the store to get her something before coming home. "Now these are for you, but not a word to anyone. Not a soul." Nathan opened the bag in his hands and pulled out a box of chocolates. "Especially with you-know-who. I'm in enough trouble with my mother as it is."

"Your mother doesn't like your new wife, does she?" Mae asked.

"How'd you know?"

"I watch and I listen."

"I didn't realize it was that obvious."

"Actually, Bear told me."

"It's all because of Damien. I don't know what you know, grandma, but it was an accident. Damien was attacking her and she was just defending herself."

"I know that, but your mother is a proud and stubborn woman."

"And she wants to hurt Haley because of it."

"We won't let that happen." Mae assured him.

"I don't know. My mother can be pretty ruthless when it comes to family."

"Family." Mae laughed. "Can I tell you a secret?"

"Yea."

"Thirty years ago, your father came to me and announced that he wanted to marry this loud-mouthed girl from the neighborhood. Deb was her name. You know, I was furious."

"You didn't like her?"

"Well, she was too ambitious, too aggressive and I didn't think she could make a good wife."

"Yea, but you've come to accept her, haven't you?"

"Your father loved her very much and we made peace. If Haley treats you right, your mother will come around too. You'll see."

Nathan sighed. "You know about the FBI raiding the house on my wedding night, don't you?"

"Yes."

"Well, my mom blames Haley. She's convinced that she's betraying the family."

"What do you think?" Mae asked.

"I don't know."

"That's not a way to start a marriage, mistrusting like that."

"I know. I set up a little test for her. I gave her some false information to see if the feds act on it."

"And if they do?"

"Then my mother has been right. Haley has been betraying me."

"And if they don't?"

"Well, then I just set a trap for my own wife. And I put the business and the family before my marriage."

"You are not doing this for the business or for your mother. You are doing this for you, because you care about her. I see the way you look at her. I may be old, but I haven't forgotten what that look means."

"What? You don't think I should be testing her? Do you think I should trust Haley?"

"No, you have to know. No matter how much it hurts, you have to know. Look, Nathan, I know all these problems you've had with this marriage, your mother's vendetta and Damien. But I have a feeling that something strong can come out of this."

"Like your parents?"

"Theirs was an arranged marriage. They hardly knew each other, but they learned to trust and they learned to love."

Haley started to walk into the room, hearing Nathan's voice. But she stopped when she heard him and his grandmother talking. She was about to leave, but she heard his grandmother say the word love. She hid behind the door listening.

"I just don't think Haley and I are going to get that chance." Nathan said, honestly. "I mean, ours was not an arranged marriage. We were forced together by circumstance. I knew that she didn't love me. She didn't even like me."

"That has changed. I promise you."

"I don't know."

"And what do you think? How do you feel about her?"

"Me? I have mixed feelings."

"Don't lie to your grandmother. You are in love with this girl."

Nathan smiled sadly. "I wish I wasn't. I wish I didn't, but you're right. I'm in love with her. I love her."

Haley's eyes went wide and she covered her mouth to keep her from gasping out loud. This was bad. This was _very_ bad.


	27. Chapter 26

Haley stood in the foyer of the Scott Mansion. She dialed Peyton's number and waited for her to answer. "_Hello_?" she heard, overtop of music coming from Tric.

"Peyton, thank God I got you." Haley whispered.

"_Haley, what's wrong_?"

"I need you to forget about everything we talked about today."

"_Haley, you have to speak louder. I can't hear you_."

"I can't. Just don't call the FBI, ok."

"_Are you alright_?"

"Yes, I'm fine. I just can't go through with it."

"_Why? What happened_?"

"I don't have time to explain. I just need you to not call the FBI."

"_I already did. I'm sorry. I told them everything, Haley_."

"Do they want Nathan?"

"_Let me put it to you this way. The agent that I talked to sounded like he just won the lottery_."

"Oh God. I can't believe this is happening."

"Haley?" Nathan said behind her. She quickly hung up the phone and turned out to look at him. "Is everything ok?"

"Nathan, I didn't know you were here." She lied, trying to remain as calm as possible.

"Yea, I was visiting with my grandmother. Is everything ok? Did I interrupt something?"

"No, no. I'm fine. I was just trying to call my brother and the nurse couldn't put me through. She didn't know how to transfer calls."

"Well, why don't you try again?"

"I will."

"Ok."

"Where are you going?" Haley asked, noticing Nathan had his jacket on.

"Down to the docks to meet that shipment. You know, the one I told you about. I gotta make sure it gets through customs. I'll see you in about an hour." Nathan put his hands on her shoulders and kissed her forehead.

He was about to walk away, but Haley grabbed onto his arm. "Nathan, don't go."

Haley grabbed his hand and led him into Deb's office. "What is the problem? Why don't you want me to go?" Nathan asked.

Haley stopped and grabbed his other hand. "I just wanted to tell you that I really enjoyed our talk yesterday. It was great and I felt so much closer to you."

"Yea, it was good. And we'll do some more of it later, ok. I gotta go." He tried to walk away, but Haley continued to hold his hands, stopping him.

"But there's so much more we need to talk about. There's a lot that I have to tell you. There's a lot of things that you need to know."

"Like what?"

"Well…"

"What?"

"I don't wanna have to get into it if you're gonna walk out the door."

"Haley, I told you I have to meet this shipment."

"I know. I just feel like whenever we get close, you have to go somewhere. I think we should spend more time together. That may be our problem."

The phone ringing on Deb's desk stopped the conversation. Nathan walked over to the desk and answered it.

Haley turned around and walked away from him. She ran her fingers through her hair. She had to get him to stay with her. She couldn't let him get arrested.

"Look, they're waiting for me at the docks. Haley, I gotta go now." Nathan said, coming to stand behind her. He placed his hands on her shoulders and leaned into her. "Baby, I heard you. I heard what you said and I wanna spend some more time with you too. We'll talk some more tonight, ok."

"Yea, if another meeting doesn't come up."

"It won't, Haley." She turned around to face him. "I promise."

"Nathan."

"What?"

"You could work yourself twenty-four hours a day if you let yourself. I mean, what am I supposed to do? Put my feelings aside and-"

"You know how important this shipment is, don't you? We talked about it."

"Is it more important than us?"

"No."

"You're asking my son to choose between our business and you, Haley?" Deb asked coming into her office. "I can assure you his priorities are in order. May I have a moment with my son?"

"Please don't go anywhere. I have to talk to you." Haley pleaded one last time.

"Ok." Nathan said and then Haley left the two of them.

"I don't like what I'm seeing, Nathan." Deb said angrily. "Not only has Haley come between you and me, she's trying to distract you from the business. It's unacceptable!"

"Unacceptable to who, mom?"

"I still run this organization."

"You don't run me. You got that? When are you gonna get that through your head?"

"You have never spoken to me like this before."

"Well, I am now. Back off! Leave Haley alone."

"Not when I know she's up to something. And you know it too, don't you?"

Nathan sighed. "Well, if Haley is up to something we'll find out soon enough."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I set her up, mom. Just like you asked me to, to prove that you're wrong about her. And it's all going down right now. Haley is either gonna sink or she's gonna swim. And I'm betting that she swims."

"How are you going to test Haley?"

"I told her there's a shipment of illegal goods coming in tonight."

"When in fact, the contents are completely legal." Deb guessed.

"There's not gonna be anything in it that's not supposed to be there."

"So if the FBI shows up on a tip only one person is responsible…your wife."

"Are you satisfied, mom?" He asked sarcastically.

"Nathan, I'm so proud of you. I should've known you'd be wise enough to do what was right. I'm sorry I ever doubted you and your devotion to this family."

"Well, you should never have doubted Haley's devotion. I've gotta get to the docks." Nathan headed toward the door

"Nathan." Deb called, stopping him.

"What?" he asked, turning back around to look at his mother.

"And if Haley betrays you and our family, what will you do?"

"What do you think? I'll do what needs to be done, mom."

Nathan walked out of the room and left Deb with her thoughts. "Bear!" she called.

Bear walked in and immediately walked over to Deb. "Yes ma'am?"

"I need you to do something for me. I want you to call that friend of yours, Kelly. I want her to call the FBI. I know this sounds crazy, but I know what I'm doing. I want her to call the FBI and identify herself as Haley Scott and say that the family is expecting an illegal shipment tonight at the docks."

"Are you sure?"

"Don't question me. Just do it." Deb said.

"Yes ma'am." He said as he walked out of her office to make the call.

Deb walked over and sat in her chair. "I'm not taking any chances. Haley is going down whether she's guilty or not."

* * *

Nathan headed for the front door while Haley was chasing after him. "Nathan wait!"

"Hales, I've gotta go."

Haley grabbed his arm and he stopped. "You can't go to the docks! I need you. I need you here with me." Haley wrapped her arms around his torso and kissed him. She brought her hands around his neck, trying to deepen the kiss. But Nathan placed his hands on her neck and stopped her.

"Stop, stop. Stop it. Tell me what is going on with you. Why the hell don't you want me to go?"

Haley grabbed his hands off her neck and continued to hold them when she lowered his hands. "I don't wanna tell you."

"Well, you're gonna have to tell me or I-"

"I didn't want to tell you this before because I don't know how to tell you the truth because I'm scared about it." Haley rambled.

"The truth about what? Tell me."

Haley let go of his hands and took a step back. "I was gonna tell you this when we were talking the other night, when we were sharing things with each other."

"Ok, well tell me now."

"I can't do this."

"Haley."

"Ok, ok, ok. Do you remember when I was telling you about Julian and about the explosion in out chemistry class during my sophomore year of college?"

"When you went blind for a few months because of the explosion?"

Haley was starting to cry. "Yea, I thought that was something that behind me. But that's why I was calling Jake. I was calling him because I had to tell him that…"

"What? Tell him what?"

"Tell him that when I look at you I don't see you very well. I think I'm going blind again, Nathan." Haley continued to cry. "Oh God, it's getting worse!"

Nathan pulled Haley into his arms. "It's ok. You've gotta calm down. You're gonna be ok. It'll be ok."

* * *

Nathan held onto Haley as they entered Tree Hill Hospital. He was frantic as he called out for Jake. "Jake! Dr. James!"

"You need to lower your voice." A nurse said, coming up behind them.

"Then help me! Do something!"

"What's going on?" Jake said, coming up behind them.

"Jake!" Haley cried, leaning into him.

"What happened to her?" Jake asked, looking at Nathan.

"She's having some problems with her eyes."

Jake pulled back from Haley and looked at her. "I think I'm going blind again."

"Ok, let's go in here. I'll take a look." Jake said, leading her into an empty exam room. Nathan followed.

"It's gonna be ok, Haley." Nathan said.

"Can you wait outside for a few minutes?" Jake said.

"Jake, I'm her husband."

"I understand that. But I need to check her out."

"I just wanna make sure she's ok."

"Nathan, please. Just go." Haley said, handing him her jacket.

"Ok, I'll be right out here, Haley." Nathan said, walking out of the room. He continued to look through the windows on the door as Jake began to examine Haley. He heard Haley's cell phone ringing in her pocket. He found it and answered it without looking at who was calling. "Hello?"

"_Nathan_?" he heard on the other end.

"Who's this?"

"_It's Peyton. Can I talk to Haley please_?"

"No. Look, you can't talk to her right now. She can't talk."

"_Why not? Where is she_?"

"Tree Hill Emergency Room." Nathan said before hanging up the phone.

* * *

Haley sat on the exam table as Jake shown a light in her eyes, examining them. "I don't know what happened. I just started blacking out and things were fogging up and it was really scary, Jake."

Jake turned off the light and sat next to her. "You can stop this anytime you want."

"Stop what?"

"This act or whatever it is that you're doing. Haley, there is nothing wrong with your eyes. You can see just fine."

"Jake, I'm not-"

"Don't even try it. So why are you doing this, Haley? Why are you pretending you're going blind? Let's try the truth this time."

"Look, Nathan and I got into a fight, ok. And I wanted him to stay home and spend time with me but he wouldn't so…"

"That's a good way to strengthen your marriage." Jake stood up and leaned against the wall. "Faking blindness to get your husband's attention. That is very inventive."

"It worked, didn't it?"

"Not with me, it's not. You wouldn't try anything this stupid unless you were scared to death. So why don't you tell me what's going on here."

"Please don't tell anybody, Jake."

Lucas, Peyton and Nathan all walked into the room. "I couldn't wait out there anymore." Lucas said, sitting down next to her and grabbing her hand. "Haley, are you ok? You can't see?"

"No, I can't."

"Don't be afraid, ok. I'm here. I'm here for anything you need." Lucas looked at Jake, who was still leaning against the wall. "Why is this happening, Jake?"

"I don't know. But I'm gonna do everything in my power to find out." Haley heard the underlying meaning in his words.

"Look, Haley, you beat this before and you're gonna beat it again." Lucas said, turning back to Haley. "I know you will. Jake, why don't we send her to that specialist out in California?"

"I don't think that's-"

"What the hell are you doing?" Nathan finally said, looking at Lucas.

"You don't know what she went through."

"I know! I know exactly what she went through. She told me everything. And what she wants, she'll get because I'm taking care of her right now. Get your hands off of my wife! And get the hell out of here!"

Lucas stood up and faced Nathan. They started to move toward each other, but Jake stepped between them. "Alright, guys. That's enough."

"Jake, I'm her husband!" Nathan argued.

"I want everybody out of this room now." Jake said. He slightly pushed them out of the room. "Come on, both of you. Out."

"Can Peyton stay? Please?" Haley asked before Jake walked away.

"Make it quick." Jake said, walking Nathan and Lucas out of the room.

"Tell me you're faking, Haley." Peyton said as she sat down next to her.

"Oh God! Is it that obvious?"

"No. It's a great performance, it is. So this is the only thing you could do to keep him from going to the docks, right? Keep him from walking into that trap?"

"I didn't know what else to do, Peyton."

"Well, then my question is what changed your mind about getting him busted, Haley?"

"I heard him talking to his grandmother and I keep seeing all these different sides to him, Peyton. I can't do it. I can't go through with that."

"That's great. But what are you gonna do?"

Peyton sat down next to Haley on the bed and they sat with their backs against the headboard. Haley wiped the tears that had fallen and sighed. "I'm so confused."

"I never would've guessed, Haley. Look, you have to tell me exactly what is going on between the two of you."

"I just don't want him to get hurt. That's all."

"What about Lucas?"

"You know, I really, really thought I was getting over my feelings for him. And then he walked in here and I just got this flood of emotion and everything came rushing back."

"He still loves you. He'll always love you, Haley. You know that. And that's the reason I backed off, in case you haven't noticed."

"Yea I have noticed. But the problem is, it doesn't make a difference because he has to get over me because it's way too dangerous for him in this."

Jake walked back into the room and closed the door behind him. "You're still here, Peyton?"

"I was just leaving."

"You're in on this too, aren't you?"

"What?" Peyton said, trying to act like she had no idea what he was talking about.

"Alright, how about both of you stop playing games. Just be honest with me. I want you to be honest with me, Haley. Are you in any danger? Yes or no?"

"No, Jake. I told you."

"I know what you told me, but I'm not buying it."

Before Haley could respond, Nathan walked in the room. "What's going on?" No one answered him. "Look, I'm not leaving here until I know what's wrong with my wife."

"Your wife is not seeing very clearly. So I'm gonna keep her overnight for observation and she's gonna see a specialist. And we'll talk in the morning." Jake nodded to Peyton, signaling her that it was time to go. "I'll walk you out, Peyton."

"I'll see you later, Haley." She said, walking out of the room with Jake.

Nathan walked over to the bed and sat down. He grabbed her hand and began rubbing it with his thumb. "I know you're scared. Do you want me stay here with you tonight?"

"No, I'll be fine. I just wanna sleep and get ready for my tests tomorrow."

"Ok. I'm gonna wait here with you until they find you a room." Nathan stood up to sit in the chair next to the hospital bed. He glanced at the door and saw Bear outside, looking in. "I'll be right back." He told her.

Nathan walked out into the hallway and followed Bear to a more secluded part of the hospital. "Nate."

"What do you want? What's going on?"

"I thought you'd wanna hear the news, Nate. The FBI showed up at the docks tonight. Your sweet little bride tipped them off."

"I don't believe you."

"You don't believe me? No? Take a look at these." Bear handed him his phone and showed him the pictures. "Now who are those people with the blue jackets with the big yellow letters on the back? That must be the FBI. And who are those fellows with the handcuffs on their wrists? That must be our guys. Garcia, O'Connor, Banks, and Kline all got bagged, Nathan." Bear grabbed his phone out of Nathan's hands. "You should've killed Haley when you had the chance."

Nathan looked back at the doors of the room that Haley was in. He couldn't believe she had really done it. He couldn't believe his mother was right. She betrayed him. After everything he had done for her, it was gonna come down to this. He knew what he had to do.

It was gonna be the hardest thing he had ever done in his entire life.


	28. Chapter 27

Haley stood next to their bed, packing some things in her suitcase. She had gotten home from the hospital a few hours ago and she hadn't seen Nathan since yesterday. Bear had driven her home and when she questioned him why Nathan couldn't do it, he simply answered that he had something important to do.

She heard someone shut open the bedroom door and walk in. She continued to pack as they walked closer to her. "What are you doing?" she heard Nathan's voice quietly ask.

"I'm packing some things to go to my brother's house."

"Why?"

"Because he wants to keep me overnight for observation. And I told him that I was ok and that everything was fine, but he still wants to see me. So I don't really wanna take any chances."

"You seem nervous." Nathan noted.

"Yea, I'm just worried about a friend."

"Who?"

"Peyton just…something happened and I have a lot going on right now."

Nathan waved his hand in front of her face. Haley blinked. "Wow. It's amazing. Your eyesight seems to have improved."

"Yea, it comes and goes. That's why I'm so scared right now."

Nathan suddenly knocked the bag she was packing on the ground. He stepped closer. "I think you're lying, Haley. There is nothing wrong with your eyes. You're just looking for an excuse to get away from here, aren't you?"

Haley turned looked Nathan straight in the eyes. "I don't know why you would say that."

"No? You have no idea?"

"Nathan, there's something wrong with my eyes. I'm going to my brother's because he needs to be there in case something happens. I'm scared about this. I thought you understood that."

"You wanna know something scary, Haley? Do you? If I hadn't taken you to the hospital last night, I would've been arrested."

"Arrested?"

"The FBI was waiting at the docks for that little shipment I told you about. My mother seems to think that you had something to do with it."

"What?"

"No one else knew about that shipment, Haley."

"Well, someone had to know besides me, Nathan."

"It was the first time that I _ever_ told you anything about the family business."

"And so your mother told you that I went to the FBI with the information! That's great. She must be really desperate to get rid of me."

"She is looking for answers, Haley."

"Why would I do something so stupid? Why would I do something so stupid the first time you confided in me? I can't even believe that you're accusing me of this."

"Let me tell you something." Nathan put his hands on the side of her neck. "If you did do anything so stupid, Haley…I don't know if I could ever forgive you."

Nathan let go of her and walked over to one of the chairs in their room. He sat down and looked at the ground. He was trying to get hold of his anger.

Haley sighed as she walked over to him. "Nathan, I could never hurt you. You need to understand that. You need to trust your feelings about me. Come on." Haley began rubbing her hand over the back of his head.

Nathan lifted his arm and slightly pushed her hand off of his head. "Right now, I don't know how I feel about you."

"Really?" Haley stepped back and leaned against the footboard of their bed. "I overheard something that I didn't mean to when you were talking with your grandmother the other day."

"What? What'd you hear?" He was suddenly nervous that she knew about the test.

"I heard you tell her that you…that you _cared_ about me. Honestly, it made me feel really, really good. Because it made me feel like you understood me, even if I've done things that I don't like."

"What? What things? Tell me."

"Look, I'm in this strange place, I'm scared, I've been scared, I've been trying to hide it. But I do believe in trusting your instincts about people. And what I'm trying to say through all of this is that I want you to trust how you feel about me. I need you to trust your instincts about me."

"Sit down." Nathan said. He got up and let her sit in the seat he was sitting in. He stood behind the chair as he spoke, with his hands resting on her shoulders. "Haley, I'm glad you're being honest with me." He placed both of his hands around her neck, a little too tight for Haley's liking. "I had no idea that you were scared to be here. I know how my mother can be."

Her eyes went wide as he held onto her neck. Haley brought one of her hands up and placed it on his hand, loosing his grip. "Yea. She hates me, Nathan. She hates me. It doesn't matter what I do."

Nathan kneeled down in front of her. He brought both of his hands down and rested them on her thighs. "No, it does. It matters what you do, very much."

"She told you that I called the FBI. She's accused me of all sorts of other things. It's not going to end."

"Haley, you are my wife. It doesn't matter what you've done or what you haven't done. I can protect you. Don't you know that? I will take care of you, if you will just let me."

"I just don't wanna have to deal with your mother anymore." Haley stood up and slightly stepped away from him. "It's gonna be ok. " Haley sighed. "Nathan."

"What?" He stood up and looked at her.

"I just wanted to tell you that I'm really glad you ended up with me last night and that nothing happened to you. It was pretty lucky."

"Yea, it was lucky."

"I should get going." Haley smiled and then walked over to the bed and picked up the bag that Nathan had shoved on the floor earlier. She placed it on the bed and then grabbed her jacket and put it on.

"I'm gonna miss you." He said, looking at the ground.

"I'll miss you too."

"It won't be the same without you."

"Nathan, I'm only going to my brother's for a few days. Just until my eyes get better."

"Yea."

"Why do you look so sad?" She asked walking toward him.

Nathan pulled her into a hug. "I don't wanna say goodbye to you."

"Nathan, you don't have to. I'm just gonna be a few miles away and you can come see me anytime you want to."

"Haley, are you sure you don't wanna reconsider anything? Huh?"

"You know I have to go."

"Yea, ok." Nathan finally let her go. "You do. Look, I'll drive you over to your brother's so I'll just get the car pulled around."

"No, I'm just gonna take a cab."

"No, you're not. You're my wife and I have to take care of you." Nathan reached for her face and began stroking her cheek with his thumb. "I wish none of this had happened."

"Nathan, I'm gonna be ok. I'm gonna be at my brother's just until my eyes get better."

"Yea, ok." Nathan looked at her for a few more seconds before he turned and grabbed her bag off of the bed and headed for the door.

Nathan walked down the hallway and then stopped. He had to sit down. He couldn't believe he had to do this. Nathan sat down on the ground, just to catch his breath. He pinched the bridge of his nose and tried to get a hold on his emotions.

Deb came out of one of the rooms and noticed him sitting on the ground. "Nathan, I'm sorry that Haley's lies have made you suffer this way. But I have to know, can you do this? Can you protect this family?"

Nathan stood up, but didn't look at her. "I'll do what I have to do, mom." He didn't give her a chance to respond. He kept walking down the hall.

Deb sighed and turned to walk to Nathan and Haley's room. She was about to knock, but Haley walked out. "I was just leaving." Haley said, not in the mood to talk to her.

"I know. I just thought I'd just come by and we could chat." Deb walked past her into the room. Haley took in a deep breath and followed her into the room. "I think there should be some peace between us, Haley."

"Really?"

"I feel like it's my fault that you're leaving."

"Well, I'll be at my brother's a few days until my eyesight gets better."

"Oh, yes your eyesight. It must have been terrifying for you."

"Yes, it was."

"Are you feeling better now?" Deb asked.

"Yes, I am. It gets better and worse and it comes and goes. That's why I'm going to stay with my brother."

"It's fortunate that you weren't driving when your eyesight got bad. You might have had a terrible accident."

"Yea, that would've really broken your heart." Haley responded sarcastically.

"Excuse me?"

"Why are you here, Deb? You don't like me, you don't want me in your house, you don't want me with your son. Why did you come here?"

"I don't see the point of keeping up this animosity. Life is too short."

* * *

Nathan walked back into the house. He stopped when he heard Bear on the phone with someone. He heard him say Haley's name and hid behind the wall to hear what he was saying.

"Everything went great, Kelly. I told Deb you'd come through for her and you came through big time. I mean pretending to be Nathan's wife when you called the feds went great. You took care of everything. And now I'm in big time with the boss."

Nathan closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the wall. He took a deep breath and clinched his fists. She was telling the truth.

* * *

"Ok, I'll bite. What inspired this sudden change?" Haley asked. "Especially since you're trying to convince your son that I'm an informant for the FBI."

"Did my son tell you this?"

"We just had a long conversation about it, actually."

"I wish Nathan had mentioned it to me."

"And I wish you hadn't lied to him about me, but apparently this is the way it is."

"I was concerned for my son. I was speaking in anger."

"Oh, well that makes it ok." Haley said sarcastically.

"Look, obviously you're not gonna believe anything I say, but I'm gonna say it anyway. I do hope for my son's sake that you two begin to get along, try to understand each other."

"I'm Nathan's wife. Maybe there's a few things I understand about him better than you do."

"Is that so? I doubt it."

The bedroom door opened and Nathan walked through it. "Haley?" He called. He walked toward the two of them and smiled. "Well, I should've known you'd be here." He said, looking at Deb.

"I was just leaving."

"That's alright. Don't leave, mom. Haley, can you excuse us for a minute. I need to talk with my mother."

"Sure." Haley said as she walked out of the bedroom.

Deb smiled and placed her hand on his cheek. "What's this all about, Nathan?"

Nathan smacked her hand away. "What kind of monster are you? You set me up to kill my own wife?! I just overheard Bear talking on the phone with some girl, mom. He was thanking her for a job well done for the boss. How could you do this to me? How? I have been going through hell. I have been trying to shut down all of my feelings for Haley, every bit of humanity so that I could do what's best for this family and get rid of her."

"Even though I made that call, you don't know that she didn't call the FBI." Deb argued.

"I know that you lied to me! You went behind my back!"

"You're missing the point."

"You set me up! You manipulated this whole thing from the beginning!"

"Nathan, I know in my heart that this girl is lying one after the other."

"_You_ are the one who could never be trusted! But that's never gonna happen again."

"What is going on? Is everything ok?" Haley asked, rushing into the room. She heard all the yelling from the hallway and hurried back in.

Nathan looked at Haley. "It's fine. My mother was just leaving. Weren't you? Goodbye, mom."

Deb sighed before angrily walking out of the room. She glared at Haley as she walked past her.

Haley walked over and stood in front of Nathan. She had never seen him look so angry before. "I am…I am so sorry." Nathan said, pulling her into a hug.

He suddenly let her go and headed for the closet. Haley watched as he pulled out a suitcase and placed it on their bed. "Nathan?"

"What?" He asked, starting to grab things from his dresser.

"Will you please tell me what is going on. What just happened with your mother? Why are you acting like this?"

"Because I was an idiot. That's all. But it's ok, because things are gonna be very different around here."

"Ok, what are you doing?"

Nathan looked up from the suitcase. "What does it look like? I'm packing. Don't worry I won't be long. I'm just gonna pack a few things."

"You're packing for what? Where are you going?"

"With you."

"Excuse me?"

"Yea. I'm not gonna leave you alone at your brother's." He placed the last thing in his suitcase and stood in front of her. He placed his hands on her cheeks. "Haley, I wanna be there for you. The same way that you'd be there for me."

He kissed her quickly before grabbing his bag and walking out of the room.

* * *

Nathan and Haley walked into the Tric with Jake and Abby. They had decided to go out for the night together, to get their minds off of Haley's eyesight. Nathan and Haley had been at Jake's for two days now and they all need a night out.

Jake and Abby sat down on one of the sofas in the back of Tric as Nathan and Haley sat across from them. "So, Jake, any idea of when you'll be getting Haley's test results back?" Nathan asked, grabbing Haley's hand and weaving his fingers through hers.

"We're still working on that."

"You are?''

"Yea, there's still a lot of questions that need to be answered."

"You know, I would really like to not talk about this tonight. I mean, that is the point of us going out, right? Getting my mind off of it and having fun?" Haley said.

"I know, but I'm worried about you and I wanna get to the bottom of this and find out why you're having these spells. Your blindness is coming back. Don't you think she should see a specialist?" Nathan asked, looking at Jake. "What about that guy-"

"You know, I love this song and I would love if you would dance with me." Haley interrupted. She stood up and pulled him away from Jake to dance.

The two began dancing and got closer to each other. Nathan wrapped his arms around her waist and Haley wrapped hers around his back. Haley placed her head on his chest as they danced.

They danced for about a minute before Nathan sighed. "How you feeling?"

Haley leaned back to look at his face. "Can't you tell?" she smiled.

"I mean your eyes. How are they?"

"They're fine now."

"Look, I know you don't wanna talk about it, but what do you think about seeing a specialist? Don't you think you should let them examine you?"

"Nathan, I would really like it if we could not talk about this right now."

"I know, but this is serious, Haley. You ended up in an emergency room. And no disrespect to your brother, but I'm not convinced that you're getting the best treatment. I'm not."

"Come on. I hate this. This is not…"

"What?"

"I hate that everybody is fussing over me."

"Fussing? We're talking about your eyesight. There could be something seriously wrong. I hope to God that there isn't, but if there were and I let it go, I'd never forgive myself. I want you to see a doctor that I know."

Haley stepped away from him. "No, I can't."

"Wait. Why don't you want anyone else to examine you? It would be good to have a second opinion."

"Because Jake knows what I need."

"Well, this guy is the best, Haley."

"How do you know that?"

"Because I know everything." Nathan smirked. "Because I made some calls and did some research."

"When?"

"Last night. I couldn't sleep so I checked out every medical webpage and chat room. And it turns out that this guy, Dr. Shulman, in Arizona is the best surgeon there is. So I called his office this morning and harassed his assistant. He's booked for months, but they will see you because I explained the situation. We can fly there tomorrow."

"I can't believe you did this for me."

"What? You thought I was just gonna sit on my ass and do nothing?" Nathan rubbed his thumb against her cheek. "No. I'm gonna do everything in my power to make sure that you get the best care. I wanna take care of you."

"I don't need a doctor, Nathan."

"Yea, you do."

"No, I don't."

"Haley, you do." Nathan argued.

Haley took a deep breath. "I faked my blindness, Nathan. I faked it."


	29. Chapter 28

_Haley took a deep breath. "I faked my blindness, Nathan. I faked it."_

Nathan blinked for a couple seconds, trying to comprehend what she just said. "Why?"

"Because I didn't want you to go to the docks that night. I wanted you to be safe."

"What are you talking about?"

"I wanna tell you the truth."

"About what?"

"It was me, Nathan. I called the FBI."

Nathan took a step away from her and looked down at the floor. He took a few deep breaths. "I saved your life. I went up against my family for you."

"I know you did. And I am so grateful for you doing that."

Nathan looked up at her. "And this is how you show me your gratitude? You betray me?"

"Nathan, I thought it was my only way out. I was up against a wall. You have to understand how I feel."

"How you feel? I have been bending over backwards to try to make you happy. Has living with me been so awful that you would send me to prison?"

"No! And that's the point. I couldn't go through with it. When it came down to it, I couldn't let you walk into that trap."

"Why? And don't tell me it's because of your deep love for me, because if you do… I won't be responsible for what I do to you." Nathan said angrily.

"I don't know why."

"You don't know?"

"I can't tell you. I don't know how, but I told you all of this because I don't want there to be any lies between us."

"Do you know what I told my mother I'd do to you if you betrayed me? Do you know what I told _myself _I'd do?"

"Please just listen to me, ok? I need you to hear me out." Haley pleaded.

"No. No, I can't listen to you."

Nathan started to walk away from her, but she grabbed his arm. "Nathan!" He stopped and turned around.

Jake and Abby walked up, seeing the argument between them. "Hey, what's going on with you two?"

"I think you should take Haley home." Nathan said, looking at Jake.

"Why? Where are you going?" Abby asked.

"I'm gonna stay here."

"I'm staying too. We need to talk." Haley said.

"No. I can't look at you right now." Nathan said, looking at the ground. He didn't give her chance to respond. He turned and walked away from her.

Haley watched him sit down at the bar, order a drink and down it.

"Haley, what is going on?" Jake asked.

"It's just a misunderstanding. He didn't get it, he didn't understand." Haley answered, starting to get upset.

"I'm sure you can work this out." Abby said, placing a comforting hand on her back.

"I didn't mean to hurt him. I really didn't."

"Haley, it'll be ok. You just gotta give him some time and some space." Jake said.

"Jake, why don't you go get our things and we'll take Haley home." Abby said, leading her out of Tric.

As they passed the bar, Haley stared at Nathan, but he didn't look at her. Abby and Jake continued to lead her out of the building toward the car.

Peyton noticed the three of them leaving the bar without Nathan. She walked over to him and set down two shots glasses. "You look like you could use this as much as me."

"What? You're not scared of me tonight?" Nathan asked.

"Not tonight." Peyton answered, drinking the shot in front of her.

* * *

"Alright, we're home." Jake said, as the three of them walked through their front door. "Ok, here's the deal. I'm gonna start a pot of coffee and Abby is gonna get some brownies or cookies or something and we're gonna talk about what's going on."

"Jake, there's nothing to talk about." Haley said.

"Sorry, Haley, but that's not the answer I was looking for."

"Can we please drop it?"

"No. You know, we're at Tric having a good time and suddenly your husband snaps over…what was he mad about?"

"It was kind of weird, Haley." Abby agreed.

"He was just upset, ok."

"About what?" Jake pressed.

"Did you have a fight?" Abby asked.

"Yea, sort of."

"Sort of. I think we're getting somewhere." Jake said.

"Nathan got upset because I told him that I wanted to come here without him, ok."

"Why? He's your husband." Abby said.

"I know he's my husband. We've just been spending every waking moment together and I just wanted to spend some time with my family."

"No, no. Haley, I'm sorry. You didn't come back here because you missed your family."

"That's what it's about, Jake!" Haley said, starting to get frustrated.

"Haley." Jake said.

"Ok. I just feel really suffocated with him, in that house, with his mother and those people. And I know it's just newlywed growing pains. You guys know how that is. It's nothing to worry about."

"I'll tell you what. I promise to stop worrying about you if you just explain to me why you would pretend that you were going blind again." Jake countered.

"I told you a couple of days ago. I just wanted Nathan to pay attention to me."

"And that's why you're here and your husband is at the bar getting tanked by himself? Stop making this more difficult than it has to be. For us to really understand what is going on with you and this marriage, you've gotta be truthful. So how about you start right now."

Haley sat down on the couch. "It's kind of a long story."

"Well, Haley, we have all the time in the world."

"Ok. It started when Damien died and Nathan got a job at Tric to find out who killed his brother."

"What was he going to do when he found out?" Abby asked, as she and Jake sat down on the sofa across from her.

"I don't know. But we became friends and then he figured out that I killed Damien. And I thought I was in a lot of trouble."

"Haley, everybody knew that was self defense." Jake said.

"Yea, everybody knew except for Bear and Deb, but Nathan believed me. And he went up against his family and he protected me."

"Protected you from what? Did Deb threaten to hurt you?" Abby asked.

"Did she?" Jake pressed.

"No. This happened because she would have made things very difficult for me."

"Haley, if you would have given us that little piece of information, we could have gone to Michael Dupre and he would have made life much simpler for you." Jake said.

Haley chuckled. "You know, I didn't want you involved then and I don't want you involved now."

"Haley, I want you out of this marriage."

"I don't want out!" Haley shouted.

"Hey!" Abby yelled, to quiet them. "Haley, are you sure about this?"

"Yes I'm serious. I wanna stay married to Nathan."

"We want to understand, that's all. Are you in love with him?" Abby asked.

"All I want is for you guys is to support me." Haley answered, avoiding her question. "Can you do that?"

"To be honest, I'm not sure I can."

"Jake, you wanted a chance to help me. Stay out of it!"

"Guys! Stop it!" Abby yelled again. When Jake and Haley took a breath, Abby continued. "Haley, are sure this is what you want?"

"Yes."

"Ok. Jake, this is what she wants. If you can swear to me that you won't be in any danger when you go back to Nathan, I will not only back off, but so will Jake."

"It's not that simple, Abby."

"I can swear that." Haley said, ignoring Jake.

"Ok. That's good enough for me." Abby said, looking at Jake.

"Well, it's not for me."

"She's a big girl, Jake, and it is time to let go."

Jake sighed. "I'm sorry, Haley. It's just…I'm your brother and I can't help but worry about you. And just remember that you don't have to do anything that you don't want to do. I love you." Jake grabbed Abby's hand and they stood up. "Goodnight, Haley."

The couple walked past her and upstairs toward their bedroom. Haley closed her eyes let out a breath when they left. She wasn't lying about not wanting them involved and Jake just wasn't getting that.

When she opened her eyes, Whitey was sitting on couch across from her. "Whitey! How long have you been there?"

"I just sat down, but I heard the three of you talking long enough to know that you almost told the truth. But not quite."

"What do you mean?"

"I think you know what I mean. But I'm still here, so tell me. What did happen?"

"I have to tell somebody. I'll tell you everything, I will."

* * *

Peyton poured herself another shot and pointed to the one in front of Nathan. "Enjoy."

"I don't wanna enjoy." Nathan said, lifting the shot glass up.

"Neither do I. I want it to go down like a bunch of rocks." Both of them threw back their heads and swallowed the shots. "I have found that the only thing that takes away pain is new pain. So drink up." She said, pouring two more shots.

"Or death." Nathan said.

"Figures you'd say something like that."

"How much do I owe you?" Nathan asked, ignoring her comment.

"You know what? It's on me. That's one of the benefits of being the owner here. Free alcohol for me and my friends."

"We're friends?"

"I don't know. What do you think?"

Nathan didn't respond. He stood up and headed for the door. But he stopped and walked back over to her. "So how long do they last?"

"These nights with me and my drunk friends? They don't last long at all."

"No. These stupors?" He asked, sitting back down.

"That's what I'm talking about, Nathan." Peyton came around the bar and sat in the chair next to him. "They don't last long enough. The numbness goes away in the morning, but at night you feel everything again." They both did another shot. "Would you like some more?"

"Yea. Double or nothing."

Peyton poured two more shots. "How about we drink these with a toast."

"I'm not really in the mood to toast anything or anyone."

"Well why don't we drink to ourselves and let the rest of the world go to hell then."

"Sounds good." Nathan and Peyton raised their shot glasses and touched them together. "To us and screw the rest."

And for the third time, they both threw back their heads and swallowed their pain.

One of the employees walked over to Peyton and Nathan with a stack of papers. "Hey, boss you wanna take a look at these?"

"No, not right now. Can't you see I'm busy?"

"But you told me you wanted to see them."

"What part of not now do you not understand?" He held up his hands and walked away. "You know what, I gotta get out of here. I can't drink with all these morons here." Peyton stood up and began walking away from the bar. But Nathan grabbed her arm.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Where are you going?"

"I'm going to get drunk."

"You want company?"

"What the hell. Sure. Come with me."

"Have you got any place in mind?"

"Maybe." Peyton answered, smiling.

Nathan followed Peyton out of Tric and to her car. The got in and Peyton drove.

* * *

"This is so horrible. I don't even know how I got myself into this mess." Haley began.

"It's not important. Just tell me what happened and we'll find a way to get you out of it. This has something to do with his mother, doesn't it? That witch, Deb."

"Oh yea. She has something to do with it."

"I knew the minute I laid eyes on her she was dangerous."

"Yea, you got that right."

"And you have been afraid for your life, haven't you?" Whitey asked. "And all this time you've kept it inside and been carrying it all alone."

"If I told anybody, if I told Jake, if I told you guys, Jake would not have let me stay with Nathan and then everybody would've been in danger."

"These whole two months have been a nightmare for you."

"Yea, and that's why I decided that I had to have it end one way or another."

"I don't like the sound of that."

"I figured the only way for me to get free was to send Deb to jail and to bring down the entire Scott family. So I called the FBI to act as an informant. Isn't that great?"

"Do you have any idea how much danger you put yourself in?"

"I thought it was my only option at the time."

"What if they find out?" Whitey asked, starting to get worried.

"What if? They already have. Nathan knows."

"How? How can he know?"

"Because I told him."

* * *

Peyton unlocked her front door and led Nathan inside. Nathan examined the living room as Peyton shut the door and locked it. "You know, I think this is the first time I've ever been invited anywhere by you."

"Since when do you need an invitation?"

"I guess you're right. So where's Lucas?"

"I don't know. Do I have to know where he is at all times?" Peyton began grabbing liquor and glasses for them from the kitchen.

"No, but didn't the four of you like live together before I married Haley? I figured you would talk."

"I guess and we lived at Lucas' house, not mine."

"Ok so explain something to me. I've been wondering this for a while. So you, Lucas, Julian, and Haley all living in one place? What is up with that?"

"You know what is up with that, Nathan."

"What? You guys knew that Haley killed my brother and you were protecting her?"

"I wonder who we were protecting her from?" Peyton answered, handing him a glass of whiskey.

Nathan smirked. "And now I am the protector."

"Well, you earned it. You saved her life."

Nathan's smile faltered and he took a sip of the drink. "Yea. I'm a real hero. Haley's hero."

"What's your problem?" Peyton asked, noticing the grim look on his face.

"Come on, you know. You probably were in on it."

"In on what? I don't even know what you're talking about, Nathan. I've got enough problems of my own. I don't need to worry about yours."

"Would it surprise you if I told you that Haley betrayed me?"

"You know what, Nathan, if you wanna drink, then drink. If you wanna talk about Haley and cry about Haley, you can go and find Lucas and you can both cry on each other's shoulder. Ok?"

"What's your problem?"

"You're not the only one that's been stabbed in the back, ok."

"Oh, is Peyton having relationship troubles?" Nathan taunted.

"You can get the hell out. I don't even know why I invited you here in the first place." Peyton said, walking away from him. Nathan grabbed her arm and turned her around.

"Hey. You can't get rid of me that easy, Peyton."

Peyton yanked her arm away from him and walked over to the bottle of whiskey and poured herself a glass and another for him. "If you're gonna stay, drink."

"You're not scared of me tonight, are you?" Nathan asked, grabbing the glass.

"I don't know. Should I be?"

"You tell me."

"No. Because you are not half as scary as you think you are."

Nathan chuckled. "I'm not?"

"No. I mean, I'm sure you love to think that you walk in a room and people shiver and run, but that's not the case."

"So you're not scared of me at all?"

"No. You don't mean a damn thing to me, Nathan."

"Well, thank you. At least you are honest about how you feel."

Peyton sat down on her couch. "That's right. I don't give a damn about you or anyone else. Because when I give a damn about someone, they lie to me, they hurt me and then they leave."

"Lucas Roe?"

"No. Not Lucas Roe. The world does not revolve around you men."

"Excuse me. Then what are you talking about?" Nathan walked over and sat down next to her.

"What was it? Oh I remember. 'Hi, Peyton. Nice to see you. By the way you're adopted.'"

"Who told you that? I thought your parents were dead."

"They are. And they're not my parents. You think they would've told me the truth, but no. I have to find out from Lucas, who thinks he's doing me a favor."

"Wow, that's rough."

"I know."

"It's a good reason to get smashed." Nathan smirked.

Peyton chuckled. "Do you ever feel like your life is a big joke and everybody around you is in on it but you?"

"Let me see. Yep, a lot lately."

"You do?"

"Well, let's see, Peyton. My wife has been trying to send me to prison and my mother has been trying to get me to kill my wife. That's the big joke and you're looking at the punch line."

"I'm not laughing."

"You know what? To hell with them."

"With who?"

Nathan leaned in to Peyton, getting close to her face. "All of them. To hell with your parents, _all_ of your parents, to hell with Lucas."

"To hell with your mom. To hell with Haley?" Peyton asked.

"To hell with all of them."

Nathan leaned in and kissed Peyton. When she didn't push him away, he kept kissing her. Peyton grabbed the back of his head and pulled him down on top of her. Nathan ran his hand through her hair as he deepened the kiss.

He didn't want to feel anything. He didn't want to think about anything. Because feeling and thinking only led him to one person. And he didn't want to think about her anymore.


	30. Chapter 29

Nathan slowly opened his eyes and looked around the room. He was confused about where he was. This didn't look like any place he recognized. And then he remembered and looked to the side and found Peyton asleep next to him and their clothes strewn in a path from the living room.

Nathan groaned as the events of the past two hours came flashing through his mind. When Peyton stirred next to him, he looked at her again. Peyton made eye contact with him and covered herself more with the sheet. She sat up and looked around the room. "Oh my God. "

"What?"

"Oh my God. What did we do?"

"Well, if you don't know then we have a little problem." Nathan joked.

"This was wrong, Nathan."

"Come on, Peyton. You weren't thinking that about an hour ago."

"You're Haley's husband. I slept with Haley's husband. Oh my God!" Peyton said, covering her face with her hands.

"Don't worry about that. She's not my wife. Not after what she did."

Peyton turned her body and looked at him. "You're still married, Nathan. This was dumb. This was really dumb."

Nathan sat up. "Peyton, relax. Forget about it."

"No one can know about this, ok. Please?"

"Ok." Nathan agreed.

There was suddenly a knock at the front door. Both of their heads turned toward the door and Peyton's eyes went wide.

"Peyton!" They heard someone yell through the door. "It's Lucas."

"Oh my God." Peyton said, wrapping a blanket around her as she got up to grab her robe. "Nathan, you need to hide. Go into my bathroom."

"Ok." Nathan said, finding his boxers and slipping them on. Peyton grabbed the rest of his clothes from the living room and threw them at him. He headed toward her bathroom.

Peyton made sure he had shut the door, before she walked to the front door and opened it. Lucas looked at her strangely when he saw the look of horror on her face. "Are you ok?"

"Yea, of course." Peyton lied.

"Look, Peyton, I just wanted to stop by and say that I'm sorry. I know you're upset about what I told you and I had no right to do that. I was trying to help you and I went about it the wrong way.

"I know you did. It's ok, Lucas."

"You know, I don't know how you feel about being adopted. I had no right to stick my nose in your business."

"Can we talk about this later, Lucas?"

"I wanna talk about it now, if that's ok."

"Just give me one minute." Peyton said, closing the door. Peyton turned and saw Nathan had come out of the bathroom and was now dressed. She opened her eyes wide and walked over to him. "What are we gonna do? He can't know, ok. Nathan, I love him, but if he knows what I did he'll never come near me again."

"Ok, ok, ok. I understand. Is that another way out of here?"

"No. I've got a lot of my dad's stuff in the backyard blocking the back door. And you can't go out the front door, he'll see you."

"What do you want me to do?"

"I don't know. He's gonna see. He's gonna see you and go crazy."

"It's gonna be fine. Look, I'll go back and wait in the bathroom until you get rid of him."

"What if he goes in there?"

"He's not."

"How do you know?"

"Cause you're not gonna let him." Nathan said, heading for the bathroom again.

When he had closed the bathroom door, Peyton walked to her door again and opened it. Lucas smiled when she opened the door and he passed through. "Ok. Listen, I'm sorry about barging in, but I just didn't want to leave you here alone feeling like this. I'm sorry about what I did. I'm sorry for figuring everything out for you that you didn't need figured out."

"It's not that. I just didn't need it figured out then."

"You weren't ready."

"Yea, I wasn't ready."

"You know, Peyton, maybe when you get used to the idea of being adopted, it won't seem like such a terrible thing."

"You're right. I know you're right. I know." Peyton said, starting to cry.

"Are you ok?"

"I just told you I was."

"Good. I'm glad to hear that. Because when I stopped by Tric to find you they said you were drinking pretty heavily with some guy earlier. And I got kind of worried about you."

"I was just working the crowd. I was just trying to make the customers happy. You know me."

Lucas glanced down and noticed a wallet sitting on the floor next to the couch. "Well, I bet you made a very particular customer very happy."

"What?"

Lucas walked over to the wallet and picked it up. "You're not alone, are you?"

Peyton grabbed the wallet out of his hand and set it on the side table. "So what? You find a wallet and automatically assume that I just picked up a guy and slept with him?" Peyton asked, getting a little defensive. "That could be anyone's wallet."

"Well, it's not Julian's and it's not mine, Peyton. As far as I know, we're the only two guys that have come over here in a while."

"Ok, ok. He was here and we had few drinks and nothing happened."

"And what? His wallet accidentally fell out of his pocket?"

"What do you want me to say?"

"Nothing. It was my fault anyway."

"Your fault?"

"Yea. I got you upset and you got really drunk and you had sex with some guy."

"You know, this is none of your business, ok."

"Fine, whatever. I don't even wanna know."

"I have my own life, you know."

"Yea, you do. Whatever. I'm out of here." Lucas said, walking past her to the door.

"Lucas, I didn't mean to hurt you! I'm sorry!" Peyton called, but he still walked out of the door. Peyton sat down on her sofa and began to cry. She had really done it.

Peyton heard the bathroom door open and Nathan stood next to her. "Hey, I'm sorry. So much for a clean get away."

Peyton wiped the tears off her cheeks and looked up at him. "I don't know why I even care. He doesn't give a damn about me."

"I don't know about that."

"What do you mean?"

"I didn't hear much, but he sounded pretty upset and jealous."

"Yea right. He's probably on his way to see Haley as we speak." Nathan closed his eyes at the comment. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to rub it in or anything."

Nathan opened his eyes and looked at her. "I don't care."

"Don't try it, Nathan. You try to hide it, but I know that you're just like me in what you're going through."

"You have no idea what I'm going through."

"I know that you're in love with Haley."

"Don't try to turn my life into something it's not. Haley betrayed me. She doesn't give a damn about me. That is one thing that I know for sure."

* * *

"I just realized there's something you're not telling me."

"No, Uncle Whitey. I've told you everything."

"No, you're leaving out the most important detail."

"What?"

"You have strong feelings for Nathan."

"No. No I do not. I just feel bad for hurting him."

"You don't risk your life for someone if you just feel sorry for them."

"Ok, so maybe I have thoughts."

"What kind of thoughts?"

"I don't know. Just thoughts, ok?"

"You do care for him." Whitey said, hoping to get her to open up.

"There's something about him. I don't know if it's the way he looks at me or the way I feel when I'm around him…I don't know what it is. I can't explain it, I can't."

"What do you think that feeling is?"

"I don't know. I wish to God that I did know because it's there and it won't go away."

"Does Nathan know how you feel?"

"He wouldn't believe me if I told him. Not now."

"You keep saying that you have feelings for Nathan. Does that mean love?"

"Well, that's not…I didn't say that."

"What about Lucas?" Whitey asked.

"I care about Lucas so much, but everything now is…I don't know what it is."

"I see." Whitey said, nodding his head.

"Do you? Because I don't. And the only thing I know right now is that Nathan told his grandmother that he loved me. I felt so…"

"So what?"

"Special." Haley said, smiling. "Is that crazy?"

"No, it's not crazy at all."

"I felt so good when I heard that. And if I didn't care for him, then why would I feel that way?"

"You wouldn't."

"Right, I wouldn't. And it still doesn't mean that it's anything more than…I don't know what it is yet, Uncle Whitey. But I do know that I want to go to Tric and I wanna talk to him and try to explain things."

"I don't think he'll listen to you." Whitey replied, honestly.

"Well, he has to. I need him to let me explain about the FBI and about everything else. He needs to know that at first I pretended to have feelings for him, but now everything's changed. Do you think he'd believe me?"

"Believe that your feelings are real now?"

"I think they are. I mean, maybe this could really work out."

"Listen, I don't think you should be running out and apologizing to Nathan." Whitey said, leaning across to Haley and placing his hand on one of hers.

"Uncle Whitey, I love you so much and I really appreciate your advice, but-"

"Good. Because there's a lot more where that came from. And you're going to listen."

"Ok, but can we make it quick, please?"

"No. No we can't, so you might as well get comfortable. Your father told me that even when you were a little girl that you liked to take care of people. You were always bringing some kind of animal home. You brought home kittens, puppies and even a rabbit once. It almost bit your finger off."

"Uncle Whitey, what are you getting at here?"

"Nathan is very different. He's significantly different than anyone you've met in your whole life. And that's not because he was raised with more or less money or that he was raised with more or less education. But it is because of the _way _he was raised."

"I know that Nathan's family isn't all-American."

"He's very well spoken, he has lovely manners, you heard him say you were loved, but in this case none of that counts."

"Of course it does." Haley argued.

"No. Because not matter how nice Nathan is to grandmothers and children, he was raised to be ruthless. He was raised to be the kind of man his mother groomed him for." Haley looked down and crossed her arms protectively around her. Whitey got up and sat down next to Haley. "What would your life be like with him?"

Haley looked at Whitey. "We could make whatever kind of life we want to. He can change."

"I'll tell you what. Why don't we make a compromise? You forget about Nathan for tonight."

"I can't. I have to-"

"Just for tonight. Stay here and sleep in your own bed. Tomorrow you can look at the situation with a fresh point of view. I'm not guaranteeing that you'll have a good nights sleep, but at least you'll have a chance to think through your options one more time."

Haley sighed and decided to give in. "Alright. I guess one night can't do too much damage."

"That's my girl." Whitey smiled. Whitey leaned over and kissed her on the forehead. "We'll talk in the morning." Whitey got up and headed for the stairs.

Haley leaned her head back against the sofa and let out a breath. "Right. In the morning." Haley sat there for a few minutes and then stood up and walked over to the phone. She dialed the number and waited for the other person to answer. "_Hello_?" Peyton answered.

"Nathan knows about the FBI." Was all Haley said.

"_It's a good thing I was the one that answered the phone_."

"Did you hear what I just said? Nathan knows that I set him up. I told him."

"_Yea, this is not a good time for me, Haley_." Peyton sighed.

"Peyton, I know that it's late, but your are the only person who really understands this whole thing with Nathan. He didn't take it like I thought he would at all. He sent me home with my family he was so hurt."

"_Maybe it's for the best_."

"Now that he knows what I did, I don't know what he's gonna do. I don't know what's gonna happen. I'm really scared, Peyton.

"_Yea, I really can't talk right now. I have to go_."

"Peyton, I need to talk to you. Peyton?" Haley said, as she heard Peyton hang up the phone.

* * *

Peyton hung up the phone and put her hands on her face. "God! What is wrong with me?"

"Peyton, come on. There is nothing wrong with you."

"Yea, I'm just like any slut on the street except I have more cash in the bank."

Nathan came over and sat next to her on the couch. "Stop, ok. I think we both know why tonight happened. Right? But it has to stay between us. And it will because no one is ever gonna hear about it from me. I promise."

"Thanks."

"Ok, I'll see you later." Nathan said as he walked to the door. Peyton began to cry again as he shut the door.

* * *

Haley lay on the sofa asleep. She only meant to close her eyes for a few minutes, but this night had been so stressful. A knock on the door suddenly woke her up. She sat up and rubbed her eyes before she stood up to answer the door.

When Haley opened the door, she couldn't hold in her surprise when she saw Nathan standing on the other side. "Hi." He said huskily.

"Hi." She smiled.

"Hi." Nathan said as he stepped forward and into the house.

"I'm so glad you came." Haley said, before Nathan pushed her up against the wall and kissed her.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry I sent you home with your brother like that." Nathan said.

"Thank you for coming."

"I had to see you." Nathan said, leaning in to kiss her again.

"Nathan, when I called the FBI, it was never about you. It was your mother."

"I know, I know. That's why I came."

"When I told you that I cared about you, I wasn't lying."

"No more lies, Haley." Nathan said, grabbing her face. "We're gonna fix this right now. Just you and me, ok." Nathan kissed her again.

"I am so glad you said that." Haley smiled. "I know we started out wrong, but we can make this right. I know we can make this work." Haley leaned up and kissed him. "I want you. I want you so much."

"I want you too." Nathan said, between kisses. "But…"

"But what?"

Nathan pulled away from her and placed his arms on the wall behind her, boxing her in. "It's not gonna happen."

"Why, Nathan? I'm your wife. We're married."

"You know why, Haley."

"What are you talking about?"

Nathan stepped back and grabbed something out of his back pocket. "Haley, you betrayed me. I saved your life and you tried to ruin mine." Nathan brought what was in his back pocket to the front of him….his gun.

"You can't do this. Not now." Haley begged.

"I'm sorry, Haley. You've given me no other choice." Nathan pointed the gun at her as Haley began to sob.

Haley gasped as she heard a knock on the front door, waking her up. It was just a dream. Nathan hadn't come over to kill her. It was just a dream. Haley sat up and rubbed her eyes before she stood up to answer the door.

Haley opened the door and saw Nathan standing there. "No!" Haley screamed as she tried to close the door. But Nathan had put his body in between the door and the doorframe. "No, no, no."

"Hey. Ow! What are you doing?"

"Go away." Haley begged, still trying to close the door.

"Haley, come on. I need to talk to you."

"No. Go, go, go."

"Haley, let me in." Nathan said, pushing his way though the door. Haley stumbled back and stared at him. "What's the matter with you? What's your problem?"

She ran over to the kitchen and grabbed a knife from the drawer to protect herself. Nathan followed her and watched her grab the knife. "Get away!" Haley threatened. "Don't come any closer or I swear I'll…"

"You'll what, Haley? You'll what?"

"I know why you're here. I know you're here to kill me!" Haley cried.

"Put the knife down." Nathan said.

"No!"

"I'm not leaving."

"I know you're upset!"

"Yea, because you betrayed me. That's right."

"I made a mistake."

"Yea, you did."

"It was a terrible mistake."

"Yea, it was."

"I'm sorry!"

"Haley, come on." Nathan tried to take a step toward her.

Haley took a step away from him. "No. You stay right there. Don't you come any closer."

"Haley, you're the one that's holding the knife." Nathan pointed out. "Do you wanna use it? Huh? Do you wanna use it on me?" He grabbed Haley's wrist and brought the knife down in front of his stomach. "Go ahead, Haley. Use it."

Haley suddenly threw the knife on the kitchen table. "I can't live like this anymore!"


	31. Chapter 30

"_Haley, you're the one that's holding the knife." Nathan pointed out. "Do you wanna use it? Huh? Do you wanna use it on me?" He grabbed Haley's wrist and brought the knife down in front of his stomach. "Go ahead, Haley. Use it."_

_Haley suddenly threw the knife on the kitchen table. "I can't live like this anymore!"_

Nathan let out a deep breath. "Look at us. Look at how we're acting. You're terrified of me. You're pulling knives and I'm breaking down doors. We're back to where we started, Haley."

"What did you expect? We're from different worlds, Nathan."

"Yea, but I thought that there was…I don't know. I thought there was a connection and an understanding between us. I thought that we would make something good out of this."

"How?"

"By giving it time. I thought that we'd be able to make this marriage work. I mean, despite our differences and our families."

"I had to call the FBI and I had to fake my blindness. The only reason I told you is because I didn't want to lie to you anymore."

"Those are hard facts, Haley."

"I know they are. I was driven to them."

"Listen to us. Listen to how we're talking to each other. I _drove_ you to do something that you didn't want to do? Is that what our marriage has done to us? I mean, I was so mad earlier that I did stuff that I didn't want to do."

"What?"

"I did something that I'm not proud of."

"What did you do?" Haley asked again.

"I lost control and I don't want to do that anymore."

"I don't understand, Nathan."

"Since I have met you, my life has spun out of control. And I have been trying to get it back, but nothing seems to work. There's only one thing left for me to do, Haley."

Haley played with her pinky ring and tried to control her breathing as she waited for him to continue.

"I'm setting you free. I'm sending you back to your life. To your nice, clean, quiet life. You don't belong with me. It's over, Haley."

"No. We had a deal."

"And I am releasing you from it."

"I had to marry you. I had to become part of your family so that I could escape your mother. I've seen her and I've lived with her. I know that her threats are real. She means what she says when she says she's gonna kill me!"

"She protects her family."

"Yes. Yes she does. But you were my only way of staying alive. You were my only way. And now you wanna set me free?"

"That's right."

"Nathan, I'm ready to go back to you though. I'm ready to be your wife."

"Haley, it's not gonna work. It would never work."

"I won't cause anymore trouble. I won't do anything to make you unhappy. Please. You know what's gonna happen if you let me go. You're giving me a death sentence."

"I'm sorry, but I don't have any other choice. Look, don't worry. Nothing is gonna happen to you. I'll work things out with my mother. I'll make sure you and your family are safe. And I give you my word. My word is good. You know that. I have never betrayed you."

"I've always wanted to believe you, Nathan. But there is a part of me that can't help thinking that you're gonna turn on me."

"That may be your style, but it's not mine." Nathan turned and walked toward the front door and Haley followed him.

Before he walked out he turned around and looked at her. "I promise you'll be safe. I promise." Nathan walked over to her and pulled her into his arms. Haley began to sob as she wrapped her arms around him. Nathan leaned down and kissed her. Haley responded and tried to deepen the kiss, but he pulled away.

Nathan slowly took off his wedding ring before grabbing her wrist and turning her palm face up. He placed his wedding ring in her hand and closed her fingers around it. "Nathan." Haley's voice begged.

"Goodbye." He said, walking out the door and out of her life. Haley slowly sat on the couch and sobbed harder than she had ever cried before in her life. She didn't want it to end this way. She wanted to be with him. She wanted to take everything back.

* * *

The next day, Nathan sat in the restaurant waiting for his mother to arrive. When he had called her earlier to set up this meeting, he tried to hide the way he was feeling in his voice. He hoped that he had done a good enough job to convince his mother that he was fine. Now if only he could convince her in person.

He had decided to eat before his mother got there and the waiter was standing by the table waiting for Nathan to hand him his credit card. Nathan was searching his jacket and pants pockets, but nothing. "You know, I think I lost my wallet."

"Do you think it was stolen, sir?" The waiter asked.

Nathan thought for a minute and realized where it was. "No. I think I just left it at home. Can you put the bill on my tab?"

"Of course, Mr. Scott." The waiter smiled and walked away.

Deb walked over to him and smiled. Nathan looked up and noticed her standing there. He stood up to hug her. "Hey, mom."

"I got your message, Nathan. I'm not used to being summoned." Nathan pulled the chair out for her and Deb sat down. "Especially by my own son."

Nathan walked back to his seat and sat down across from her. "I didn't want to have this conversation at home."

"Why not?"

"I didn't really wanna risk upsetting grandma."

"What's happened, Nathan?"

"Look, my marriage is over."

"Thank God!" Deb smiled. "I have been waiting for this day to come about and you finally came to your senses. I'm so proud of you. What happened? Why did you change your mind so quickly?"

"Nothing. It just wasn't working out."

"Was that it or were my suspicions true? Haley turned you into the FBI after all?"

"Well, that would make two of you, wouldn't it?"

"My God she did."

"Look, mom, it's not important."

"You're right. It's not important. What is important is that you have come to your senses about this girl and she can finally get what is coming to her."

"No. You're not gonna lay one finger on Haley. No one is. Do you understand?"

"I understand one thing, Nathan. You are about to become a widower."

"You really don't take me seriously at all. Do you?" Nathan asked his mother.

"Don't worry, Nathan. I will not hold you to your original contract. I am not completely insensitive to your feelings."

"How heart warming." Nathan said sarcastically.

"Haley has to answer for Damien. It's as simple as that."

"No she doesn't, mom. No more threats, no more contracts, no more talk about vendettas or family code. This is the 21st century, mom. It's time for the rules to change. "

"I decide when and if the rules change, Nathan."

"Well, it's a little late. I've already decided."

"What do you mean you've decided?"

Nathan leaned in closer to the table. "If you do anything to Haley, I will bring the entire family down."

"You're so anxious to be in charge. First rule of ruling is don't make threats you can't keep."

"I'm not." Nathan said, reaching down beside the table into a briefcase. He pulled out a black portfolio and held it up.

"My ledger." Deb said, reaching for it. But Nathan quickly put it back in the briefcase beside him. "Where did you get that ledger?"

"It doesn't matter where. The point is that I have it. That's what counts."

"So that's why you wanted to meet in public. It had nothing to do with your ailing grandmother."

"It's all in there, mom. The illegal deals, the payoffs, the kickbacks, the entire family business from the completely criminal to the highly questionable. Thanks to your excellent record keeping, I know exactly where the bodies are buried. That ledger is my insurance policy. If you touch Haley or her family at all, I'm gonna hand that over to the FBI."

"You love Haley so much that you'd set her free by keeping your own family hostage?"

Nathan smirked. "Good, very good. You are finally understanding me."

"If you take down this family, you go along with it. And by giving up your freedom, you give her hers." Deb said.

"That's a risk I'm willing to take."

* * *

Peyton sat at her kitchen table with a glass of water by her. She had just woken up with a massive hangover and was feeling terrible. She heard a knock on her front door and groaned. She didn't want to deal with anyone right now. She just wanted this hangover to be gone.

Peyton sighed as she stood up and walked to her front door. She opened it to find Haley on the other side. "Haley." Peyton was shocked to see her. "What are you doing here? I wasn't expecting to see you."

"Yea, I know. I have some news actually. Can I come in?"

"Yea." Peyton said, before she could stop herself.

Haley walked in and sat on the couch. "You are not going to believe what just happened."

Peyton shut the door and sat down on the couch across from her. "The way my life is going, nothing is gonna surprise me. Trust me."

"It's about Nathan."

"Nathan? What about Nathan?" Peyton suddenly got really nervous. She couldn't know what happened.

"He let me go." Peyton let out a small breath; thankful that was what she meant. "It's over. I'm finally free of Nathan and his family."

"I don't know what to say."

"Neither do I, actually. I can't believe it. I thought I was gonna spend the rest of my life at that dining room table with Morticia staring at me at the other end. And now it's over and…yea, it's over."

"Congratulations, Haley. I mean, once again you get what you want. How do you do it?" Peyton half joked.

"Yea, I did get what I wanted, didn't I? I guess. So why am I not happy? I don't know. I should be happy, right? I should be celebrating and setting off fireworks and instead I have this empty, sinking feeling inside of me. Why is that?"

"I think that you just need to admit that you have feelings for him."

"Maybe I do. Maybe I do need to finally admit that. But Nathan is still everything that I don't want in a guy. His family is crazy, I don't want their business. Peyton, this thing has been a nightmare since the beginning of it." Haley sighed. "But he has been good to me. I have to admit that. I have to. I don't know. There's just something about him that gets to me."

"I can see why you'd say that."

"You know what the weirdest part is? I know that he loves me. And the more time that I spend around him and with him, the more I start to see his good qualities."

"Yea."

"I don't know. Maybe I've been brainwashed. Sitting at that table and sleeping in that house every single night after night after night is really nerve racking. Uncle Whitey told me that I should just sit down and take some time to think about how I feel about him. And the truth is that…the truth is that I have had feelings for him. How could I not, Peyton? He protected me, he went up against his family for me. I guess in his own way he's not such a bad guy. You know, he's pretty honorable, right? As strange as it sounds, I've actually gotten to this point where I can trust him."

"Yea." Peyton said, not really knowing what else to say. The more Haley spoke the worse she felt.

Haley noticed something out of the corner of her eye on the side table…a wallet. She stood up and looked at it. It was Nathan's wallet. "Why is Nathan's wallet here?" She asked, holding it up and looking at Peyton.

"Um, Nathan left that at the bar last night. And I just picked it up and figured I would just give it back to you or him." Peyton lied.

"Thanks."

"Haley, are you sure that you wanna leave Nathan?"

"Yea, yea." Haley replied quickly.

"No. I want you to put aside Deb and Bear. What about Nathan?"

"I can't put them aside, Peyton. It's a package deal."

"But everything you're saying about Nathan is true. He obviously cares about you so much that he married you and betrayed his own mother. And how he went on and on about you last night. It was something else."

"You saw him last night?" Haley perked up at this comment.

_Crap_. She thought. She hadn't meant to say that. "Yea. I mean, we talked a little. He came to bar and I was bartending. That's how I got his wallet."

"So what did he say about me exactly?"

"I don't remember word for word. But I know if you still want him, he's yours."

"I can't think about his right now. I just can't." Haley said, shaking her head. She headed toward Peyton's bedroom.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm gonna call Nathan. I have his wallet. I'm sure he's looking for it." Haley said, walking in the room and shutting the door.

There was a knock at the door and Lucas came in, covering his eyes. "Is the coast clear? Are you hiding anyone else in your bed or anything?"

"Haha." Peyton deadpanned. "No. He left last night."

"Ok, just making sure." Lucas said, lowering his hands and smiling. Lucas sat down on the sofa across from her. "Listen, Peyton, about last night-"

"I know. I know you think I'm the worst person in the world."

"I had no right to say anything, ok. I just got a little worried about you."

"Yea, I know."

"I was kind of hoping we could go grab something to eat. We can talk about it." Lucas said.

Peyton couldn't hide the smile on her face. "Talk about what?"

Haley walked in the room and stopped in her tracks when she saw Lucas sitting there. "Haley, what are you doing here?" Lucas asked.

"I just came to see Peyton."

"Where's your husband?"

"He's not here. Nathan and I are not together anymore. My marriage to him is over."

"It's over?"

"Yea, things didn't really work out."

"Since when?"

Haley sat down next to Peyton. "I don't know, Lucas. I wasn't really taking notes."

"Did he do something to you?"

"No."

"Well, you broke up with me to marry this creep and now you're breaking up with him. Am I missing something here? You wanna fill me in on something?"

"Things are just really complicated."

"I guess they're really complicated." Lucas said, leaning his head back against the sofa.

"Lucas, I'm so sorry about the way I've treated you." Haley said.

Lucas looked at Haley. "Yea, well I'll get over it. Life goes on."

"I was in a really bad place and there was a lot going on. And now I just want my old life back."

"What does that mean exactly?"

"I want my school, I want my house and my family. Do you think you could ever forgive me?"

"Oh my God." Peyton laughed.

"What?" Haley asked looking at her.

"Lucas, what the woman is saying, very terribly I might add, is that she wants you back."

"I didn't say that and I don't expect that. And I didn't ask for your opinion, Peyton."

"Well, is that what you want?" Lucas asked.

Haley looked at him. "Sure. I guess. I mean, I know that we have a lot to talk about, but you were a very big part of my life."

"Oh my God." Peyton groaned.

"Peyton, will you please?" Haley said.

"I live here, ok."

"Just let her talk, Peyton." Lucas said and Peyton rolled her eyes. "Look, Haley, I have dreamt about this moment for a long time. It took me a long time to stop thinking about this. And the more time I spent away from you, the easier it got to deal with not having you in my life. I mean, you just left. You didn't say anything. I didn't know what to do. I go to the Scott house to try to rescue you and you get me kicked out. I go to the cottage to meet you and I catch you in bed with Nathan. That was our spot! What am I supposed to do? You waltz back in here and want you life back and you want it be like normal again? I don't think so."

"I know things aren't back to normal, Lucas. I know they're not going to be for a long time, but can't we at least try?" Lucas just sat there looking at the coffee table. "Ok, how about we just go to dinner tonight? We could talk about everything that's happened."

"I don't know if I can do that."

"Lucas, please. Don't give up on us now that we have the chance. Just dinner, ok? Please, let's just find out what's still between us." Lucas still didn't answer. Haley sighed and turned to Peyton. "Listen, Nathan didn't answer when I called him earlier so I'm just gonna drop his wallet off at the house. I'll see you later. "

Haley stood up and grabbed the wallet off the side table. When she walked back past the sofa she stopped. "Just think about it, Lucas." She said, before walking out the front door.

When she shut the door, Lucas sighed. "Can you believe what just happened?"

"I don't know. Why is it always so hard? I mean, I know you two have a connection, but why is it never easy? Has it ever been easy?"

"Never."

"And what about now? I mean, I gotta tell you as a friend or whatever you're calling me these days, I don't understand it. I mean, if I was Haley and I was finally free from my husband to come be with you, I would tear this town apart looking for you. I would pitch a tent out on your front lawn, Lucas, until you came out. Instead she comes here and finds me and makes dinner plans with you from across the room. I mean, why wasn't she in your arms so that you knew you belong together? Why? I know I would have been."


	32. Chapter 31

Haley closed the front door of Peyton's house and saw Nathan walking up her driveway. She stopped walking and waited for him to approach her. As Nathan walked up the porch stairs, Haley tried to hide her smile. "Hey." He said.

"Hi."

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"I was just talking to Peyton. I have your wallet." She said, handing it to him.

"Yea, um…look I wanna explain what happened last night. Last night I was really drunk and-"

"You know, there's no need to explain. A lot happened and I'm not surprised you left your wallet at Tric."

"Yea, it was a pretty intense." Nathan said, playing along. Silently thankful she didn't know about him and Peyton.

"So did you talk to your mother?"

"I did. You don't have to worry about anything. I took care of it."

"Are you sure?"

"Haley, I gave you my word nothing is gonna happen to you."

"I'm really, really grateful for what you did for me. Letting me go."

"It is what you wanted, right?"

"Yes." She answered, looking down at the ground. "I do wish sometimes that things could be different. Maybe." Haley looked up at him, trying to hold it together.

"Well…"

The front door opened and Lucas walked out. "What are you doing here, Scott?"

"I was looking for Haley because I packed up her things and I wanted to know where to send them." Nathan replied.

"You can just send it over to my place. I'll take care of it." Lucas said.

"Ok."

Lucas put his arm around Haley's shoulders. "You know what? We do have a lot to talk about and a lot of catching up. Why don't we go to dinner? Come on."

Lucas led her away from Nathan toward his car. Nathan simply watched with a pain in his chest as the best thing that had ever happened to him walked away from him with another man.

* * *

Later that night, Peyton came down from her office and over to the sofas. She saw Nathan sitting on them with a drink in his hand. "Well, well. Two nights in a row. I'd say you're a regular."

"Yea, I can't get enough of this place." Nathan replied sarcastically.

"I noticed you switched to soda. What's the matter? You don't like Tequila anymore?"

"It gets me into trouble."

"I know the feeling."

Nathan stood up. "Look, I wanted to talk to you about last night."

"There's nothing to talk about, ok. We were both about to jump off of some place tall and we just stopped each other from jumping."

"Right. There's nothing wrong with that."

"Everyone has their weaknesses, right?"

"Right."

"It didn't take them long to get back together." Peyton said, trying to change the subject.

"Gee, who are you talking about, Peyton?" Nathan replied sarcastically.

"Stupid me. I practically pushed them together again."

"Well, it's probably for the best." Nathan said, sitting back down.

"For the best? Do not give me that, Nathan. At least I can admit that I care. You walk around like some advertisement for misery."

"Can't fool you, Peyton." Nathan said.

"I'm a genius. I mean, he's probably taking her to the fanciest restaurant in town on the money that I pay him for working here. It's just so brilliant! I feel like I could throw up."

"I have an idea. Why don't we not talk about either one of them tonight." Nathan said.

"Ok. What do you wanna talk about? I mean, we've kind of exhausted all the topics of conversation. We can talk about sleeping together last night. We lived to tell about it, right?"

"Look, we're not gonna talk about it. Isn't that what you wanted? To anyone, especially not to you-know-who."

"You must really suck in poker." Peyton said, sitting down across from Nathan.

"Why?"

"Because you're so easy to read."

"What am I thinking right now?"

"About the fact that your wife is out with her ex boyfriend."

"Look, Haley's not my wife anymore. I'm just hanging out, Peyton. I'm minding my own business."

"Yea, ok. And your mother is a librarian."

"Ok, Peyton. I'm miserable, I'm suicidal. If a truck passes by I'll jump in front of it. Are you happy?"

"Yes. That is the first honest thing you've said all night, Nathan."

"Come on. What do you want?" Nathan asked.

"I like when people tell me the truth, that's all."

"I know what you want, Peyton. You want me to bring Haley back into my life so that you can go after someone who doesn't want you."

"Wow. Give me it to me straight, Nathan."

"Sorry."

"Go on. Just pour the salt on it. I'm an open wound, Nathan."

"I am tired of trying to force something that is not gonna happen." Nathan leaned in closer. "Haley pulled a knife on me."

"What?"

"I went to talk to her and she thought that-"

"You were gonna kill her."

"Yea. And when I saw that look on her face, that look of fear of _me_, then I knew that it was over. I had to let her go."

* * *

Lucas and Haley walked into Tric together. It was Lucas' idea to come here since the restaurant they had planned on going to was closed. "Are you sure you're ok being here?" Lucas asked her.

"Yea, I'm fine."

"You're fine? You feel comfortable?"

"Yea, don't I look comfortable?" Haley said, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Actually, no. Look, we've been together for a long time and I've never had difficulty having a conversation with you before. Something's different. You mind telling me what that is?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, Lucas. I'm having a great time."

"It's not like it was, is it?"

"Why do you say that?"

"I don't know. I just feel it. Don't you feel it? I mean, maybe it won't be as easy to pick up where we left off as we thought."

"I'm still the same person, Lucas."

"No, you're not. And neither am I. A lot has happened, Haley. Maybe too much has happened."

"What do you mean too much? Maybe it's the fact that we just go back together. Maybe it's the fact that so much has happened in such a short time. I mean, my world was turned upside down and back again. Yours too, right?"

"Right."

"So maybe we just need to take a few days and give it a little bit of time. And before you know it, we'll be back to normal and it will be like the last few months never happened."

"Is that what you want? To just pick up where we left off?" Lucas asked.

"No. I want us to be better than we were before." Haley said, pulling him into a hug.

When they pulled apart, Lucas noticed the look on her face. "Are you ok?"

"I want to ask you something. And please be honest with me. When I was with Nathan, were you and Peyton-"

"No. How can you even ask that?"

"I don't know. It just seems like things changed between you guys and she's had a thing for you forever."

"Peyton and I are just friends. How could you even ask that? I mean, I never stopped loving you. Ok?"

"Ok."

"Come on. Let's go grab a table." Lucas grabbed her hand and led her through Tric, looking for a table.

Nathan and Peyton were still talking, when he saw the two of them walking past the sofas. "So much for a fancy restaurant." Nathan said,

Peyton turned her head to see the couple sitting down at a table. "What are they doing here?"

"There's one way to find out."

"No. They haven't seen us so you can just leave and you don't have to say a word to her, Nathan."

"Why would I wanna leave?"

"Because unless you're a masochist, torture isn't fun."

"Hey, I'm fine."

"No, you're not."

"Yes, I am. I don't see you moving either, Peyton."

"Well, I own the place. Where am I gonna go?"

"Good. Then why don't we go over and join them?" Nathan said.

* * *

Haley and Lucas sat at a table with drinks. Lucas had just asked her a question, but she was staring off into space. "Hello."

"Hmm?" Haley said, looking at him.

"There you go again. I just keep kind of losing you every few minutes."

"I'm just tired I guess. Don't worry so much."

"You're the one that seems worried, Haley."

"I'm sorry. I really don't mean to be so out of it tonight. I'm just…I'm sorry."

"You don't need to apologize."

"You know what? Let's dance." Haley said, grabbing his hand.

The two of them stood up and began dancing. Haley suddenly got stiff and halted the dancing. Lucas pulled back and looked at her. "What?"

"Nothing."

Lucas turned his head and looked over his shoulder and saw Nathan staring at the two of them. He turned his head back and sighed. "Why don't we get out of here?"

"You know what? No. I can handle this, ok."

"Alright."

"And I have to get used to not running away every time I see Nathan."

Nathan continued to stare at Haley and Lucas dance. Peyton had been glancing back and forth between Nathan and Haley for the past two minutes. She couldn't take it anymore. "Ok, you know what? I changed my mind. Let's go. I'm the boss. I can do anything I want, right?"

"What's your problem, Peyton?"

"I see trouble in your eyes, Nathan. And I don't want any trouble here, ok."

"No trouble. No trouble at all. I just wanna say hi." Nathan said, standing up.

Haley saw Nathan standing up and got stiff again. "Maybe we should get out of here."

"No, no. I think you were right the first time. You need to stop running from this guy, ok. You don't need to do that every time you see him. Come on." Lucas placed his hand on her lower back and led her over to where Peyton and Nathan sat. "Mind if we join you guys?"

"Lucas, what's up?" Nathan said shaking his hand.

"Hey, Nathan."

"You guys wanna join us? Take a seat."

"Yea, thanks. We will." Lucas took a seat next to Peyton, leaving Haley to take the seat next to Nathan. "So how is it going?"

"I thought you were going to that new restaurant. What happened?" Peyton asked.

"Oh, we did, but it was closed." Lucas answered.

"So you came here?"

"Well as a manager here, I still have certain perks, don't I?"

Haley discreetly took off her wedding ring and held it in her hand. She hadn't been able to take it off yet.

"Yea, I guess you do." Peyton answered.

"The real question is, what are you doing here, Nathan?" Lucas asked.

"Nathan stopped by for a few drinks. He's not gonna stay long." Peyton answered for him.

"Yea, I like it here. This is where I met my first wife." Nathan said, before turning his head and looking at Haley.

"Excuse me. I'm gonna go to the ladies' room." Haley said, standing up. "Peyton, would you join me please?"

"No, no. I'm not. I don't think that's a good idea right now."

"Alright. I'll be back." Haley said, turning and walking to the bathroom.

"Hey, how about a drink?" Nathan suddenly said, standing up and heading to the bar.

"That's a great idea. I'm gonna come with you. You'll be alright, right, Lucas?" Peyton asked, standing up and following Nathan.

"I think I'll handle it." Lucas said.

* * *

Nathan was sitting at the bar, waiting to order a drink. Peyton walked up to him and sat down. "What are you trying to do, Nathan?"

"What do you mean? I'm getting a drink."

"You're trying to provoke Lucas."

"No, I'm not. I am making conversation."

"Conversation? My first wife? What was that supposed to mean?"

"Look, Peyton, when Haley and I were together, Lucas did nothing but make a nuisance of himself. I just want him to know what it feels like."

"But you don't care about Haley, remember?"

"Hey, buddy, could I get tequila on the rocks please?" Nathan asked the bartender.

"Now you're ignoring me? Are you nuts? What do you think is gonna happen?"

Nathan took a sip of his drink and smirked. "Peyton, relax. This is gonna be a fun night." He took another sip of his drink. "You should get a drink."

"No thanks. I think one of us has to stay sober."

Lucas came up and stood next to them. "Hey."

"Lucas, I am being rude. Would you like a shot? It's on me." Nathan said.

"Why not?"

Nathan held up his hand to get the bartender's attention. "A shot of tequila for my friend."

The bartender poured the shot and handed it to Lucas. "Thanks." He said, before tossing his head back and drinking it. "So, I couldn't help but notice that the two of you have gotten rather _close_ lately, huh?"

"Close? Why would you say that?" Peyton asked.

"Well, it's starting to look like you guys are good friends."

"Yea, we used to work together, remember?" Nathan said.

"But you don't work here anymore, Nathan. Yet you're still hanging around."

"Do you have a point, Lucas?"

"No. I'm just acknowledging that you guys are good friends."

"Is that a problem? Does it bother you that we're friends?" Nathan asked.

"No, it doesn't. It's good and healthy to meet new people."

"I love this song. Dance with me, Lucas. Haley won't mind." Peyton said, standing up and trying to get him away from Nathan.

"No, no thanks."

"Oh come on. Let's go. For old times sake."

"No, really I'm good."

"Come on!"

Lucas noticed Nathan started taking out his wallet to pay for the drinks. "Wait, wait. Hold on. Hey, your wallet."

Nathan looked up at him. "What? What about it? I left it here the other night on the bar."

"Is that so? Joe, come here for a second." The bartender walked over to him. "Did you find a wallet yesterday or anything?"

"Not on my watch." Joe answered.

"Thanks. And one more thing. This look like the guy that left with Peyton last night?"

"Yea, that's him." Joe said, before walking away to help other customers.

"Well, we have an interesting situation here, don't we?" Lucas said, looking between the two.

"What are you talking about, Lucas?" Peyton nervously chuckled.

"Well, you had a guy at your house last night and I couldn't quite place who it could be."

"Lucas, drop it. It's nothing."

"No, Peyton. It's ok. I wanna see where he goes with this." Nathan said.

"You and Nathan. So you're right and I was wrong. The guy definitely isn't a stranger."

"It's not what you think." Peyton said.

Lucas looked at Nathan. "It was you. It was you at her house last night in her bed."

Nathan was about to respond when he saw Haley walk toward them. "Haley, hey."

"What going on?" Haley asked, noticing all three of them had stopped talking.

"Nothing. We were wondering what was taking you so long." Peyton answered.

"Is something wrong, Peyton?"

"No, no. Actually Peyton was getting kind of worried about you. Everything is just dandy isn't it?" Lucas said.

"I'm having a great time." Nathan said, taking a sip of his drink.

"Alright, you guys were talking about something important before I got here."

"No, we weren't. Lucas was actually telling a story." Peyton said.

"And what was it about?" Haley questioned.

"It was about how sometimes people don't see what is actually right in front of them." Lucas said.

"What does that mean?"

"Just that we're all hanging out, having a drink and there's no reason that we can't all get along." Nathan chimed in.

"What are you doing, Nathan?" Peyton asked.

"Just burying the hatchet, Peyton."

"Wow. Well, he's just so thoughtful. Isn't he, Peyton?" Lucas said.

"Yes he is. You know, now that we're all getting along, why don't you just come down to the cellar with me, Haley. I have a great bottle of Chardonnay just waiting-"

"I'm not really in the mood for a drink right now, Peyton."

"Why not? You look like you could loosen up."

"No. Look, all you guys are lying through your teeth right now and I wanna know what is going on."

"Come here." Peyton said, grabbing Haley's hand and leading her away so that they could talk. When they got into a secluded spot, Peyton stopped and just looked at Haley.

"Ok, I'm not exactly psychic here, Peyton. So it would help if you spoke."

"I know. It's a long story and I'm just trying to…"

"Trying to?"

"Look, I just want you to know that I feel very bad about this. Just know that right off the bat."

"Peyton, just say it."

"Alright, you weren't around last night at all. And I got some news, some information about my parents."

"Ok?"

"You know that letter you found the other day?"

"About you being adopted?"

"Yea, well I found out that it's true. I was really adopted. And I was freaked out, Haley. I mean, I was really freaked out."

"Anyone would be."

"I went a little further than anyone would."

"What did you do?"

"Let me just say that I was in a lot of pain, ok. I was out of my mind. I had no idea what I was doing."

"Peyton, I understand. Please tell me."

"I did something really stupid. And I just hope that you're ok with it."

"Me? What does this have to do with me?"


	33. Chapter 32

"_I did something really stupid. And I just hope that you're ok with it."_

"_Me? What does this have to do with me?" _

Peyton was about to respond, but Lucas walked up and grabbed her hand. "I owe you a dance, don't I?"

"Wait a second." Haley said, grabbing Peyton's other arm to stop them.

"She wanted to dance before and I didn't want to, but now I do. Come on. I love this song."

"You know what, Lucas? This isn't a great time." Peyton said.

"Sure it is. You wouldn't mind, would you, Haley?"

"Whatever."

Lucas guided Peyton over to the dance floor and pulled her into his arms as they began to dance. "What the hell are you doing?" Peyton asked.

"I'm saving you."

"You're saving me? What? So you could tell her yourself? You wanna punish me like that?"

"Now is not the time for that."

"Not the time? What are you talking about, Lucas? She needs to know. Let me tell her and if she freaks out, then I'm the one that screwed up."

"You and I are not gonna say anything, ok."

"Why not?" Peyton asked, pulling back to look at him.

"Because Nathan Scott is already out of our lives. She doesn't need to get hurt."

Peyton took a step back and chuckled. "I can't believe you."

"What? You and Haley have become close friends. I've seen that. Let's keep it that way."

"You're right. Let's keep it that way. Can we go back now? Haley is gonna suspect something."

"Actually, no. I'm not done yet. I need to talk to you."

"About what?"

"About you."

* * *

Haley walked back over to the bar and saw Nathan sitting there with a drink in his hand. "How are you?" she asked.

He shrugged. "I'm fine. You and Peyton have a nice talk?"

"She told me she found out she was adopted."

"Yea, I heard about that."

"She said she did something she regrets and something she shouldn't have."

"She did?"

"Yea, well she didn't get a chance to finish her story. Lucas took her away."

"Why would he do that?"

"I don't know, Nathan. Why don't you tell me what Peyton was gonna say."

Nathan shook his head. "Look, all I know is that it's a good thing we're not together anymore. You obviously belong with Lucas."

"So now you think Lucas and I should be together?"

"Haley, come on you guys were together long before I came into the scene."

"And?"

"He's not such a bad guy."

"I don't believe this for a second. Where is this coming from?"

"Nowhere. Haley, now that we don't have to be together, I can be objective about everything. You're meant to be with him. He's very good to you and he's very loyal."

"I seem to recall you hating him."

"Hate is a very strong word, Haley. At the time, he was an obstacle. He was endangering you. Hanging around all the time, making it a lot more difficult to pretend that you cared about me."

"What?" Haley said, getting angrier and angrier the more he spoke.

"Look, I know that you never wanted him out of the picture. The guy that you hated, the guy that you wanted out of your life was me. Right?"

Lucas walked over to them and stood next to Haley. "Is Peyton ok?" she asked.

"Yea. She's fine. She'll tell you about it later."

"What's going on?"

"Nothing. She'll tell you later. Are you ready to go?"

"Yea I'm ready."

"Alright, I'm gonna go grab our stuff." Lucas said, walking away from them.

Haley looked at Nathan again. "Have a great life, Haley." Nathan said, standing up. He walked over to a table near by and sat down, hoping to get away from her. But Haley followed him.

"I do not understand this at all."

"What don't you understand? Huh? You've obviously found your one true love. Enjoy it. I want you to enjoy it."

"Why are you pushing me at Lucas so hard?"

Nathan shrugged. "True love warms my heart."

"No. I know how you feel about me. I know."

"What are you talking about?"

"Nathan, I heard you tell your grandmother. Don't you remember?"

"Haley, you're making too much out of that."

"I'm not making too much out of anything. You told her that you loved me. Nathan, are you telling me that you lied to your grandmother?"

"Haley!" Nathan half yelled, but he controlled himself again. "She's not well and I just wanna make her happy and put a smile on her face. I'll say anything."

"So you're telling me that you never loved me ever?"

"Just like you never loved me. It was all part of the act, right?"

"All part of the act. Right." Haley said, looking down at the ground.

Lucas walked over with their stuff in his hands. "You ready to roll?"

Haley looked up from the ground to Nathan. "Yes I am." Lucas handed her purse to her and led her away from Nathan.

When they left, Nathan painfully closed his eyes. "I do love you." He whispered.

* * *

Nathan sat in a small diner waiting for Chase to show up. Last night had been one of the worst nights of his life. Not only had he seen Haley, but he had seen Haley with Lucas. Something he never wanted to see again.

And then to top it off Haley was trying to get him to confess that he loved her. He wasn't going to do that. He couldn't. Not now.

He spotted Chase walking toward him and gave him a half smile as he sat down. "What's eating away at your soul this time?" Chase asked.

"Haley."

"You having problems?"

"You could say that."

"Nate, if it makes you feel any better, it's not uncommon in the first year of marriage. Even in the best of circumstances, it's a big adjustment for everyone."

"That doesn't make me feel any better."

"Well, then I'm glad you called me to talk."

"Chase, I don't want to talk. I want an annulment."

"Nate, I saw the look in your eyes when you married Haley."

"Chase, I want the annulment. I wanna forget this marriage ever happened."

"But it did. It did happen, Nate. And I remember the way you talked about her. I know you still have feelings for her."

"What do you want me to say? Yea I do. I love her so much that I stole the family books to blackmail my mother so that Haley can be safe after the annulment. You wanna know the truth, Chase? Do you? My marriage was never consummated. And it never will be. It never really started so it shouldn't be too hard to end it, should it? Just do it."

* * *

Haley and Whitey sat on the sofa talking. They had been talking all morning about Haley's feelings for Nathan and Lucas. Haley was so angry with Nathan for last night. She couldn't believe all the things he said last night. How could he say that he never loved her?

And she was also annoyed with Lucas. He had been so shady about what was going on with Peyton. She wanted to know what was going on and it felt like he was keeping Peyton from telling her.

A knock on their front door made Haley gasp. "Haley, it's Lucas. Open up. I gotta talk to you." They heard Lucas say.

Haley groaned. "I am so not ready for this right now."

"You need to talk to him." Whitey said, patting her knee.

"What am I gonna say to him?"

"Just be honest with him and be honest with yourself. It's the only way to get everything back on track. Go on and open the door. I have to run to the store for some errands, but I'll be back in a little while."

"Ok."

Whitey stood up and kissed her on the head, before heading out the back door.

Haley sat there for a few more seconds before she got up and opened the door for Lucas. "Hey. Sorry. I was just talking to Uncle Whitey." Lucas walked into the house and Haley closed the door behind him. "Are you ok?"

"About as alright as I'm gonna be without any sleep." Lucas sat down on the couch.

"Yea, I didn't really sleep either." Haley sat down across from him and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Look, Haley, I got a lot of questions here."

"I know."

"You tell me that it's over with Nathan and you want me to accept that. But I can't. I just can't make any sense out of any of this."

"What is it that you wanna know, Lucas?"

"I wanna know everything, Haley. One minute we're together, we're so in love with each other and the next you take off and marry Nathan Scott. What am I supposed to think? I don't even know what begin to ask you. What are you thinking? What do you feel?"

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Lucas."

"Look, if we're gonna bring anything back, you're gonna have to answer a lot of questions, Haley."

"You're right. I know that I have to tell you this, I just..." Haley took a breath before continuing. "Nathan was supposed to kill me."

"Nathan what?"

"He was supposed to avenge Damien's death. And he had a gun."

"What?"

"And he took me down to beach and he was gonna kill me. But instead, he married me because it was the only way to keep me alive."

"So the whole time?"

"In the Scott family code, anyone in the family can't be hurt."

"And so you two got married so that you'd become a member?"

"That way Deb couldn't come after me or anyone else that I care about."

"So Nathan went directly against his mother? He put his neck out on the line for you, Haley?"

"Nathan's not a killer, Lucas."

"Oh he's a killer. But this is different. He did this for you, Haley."

"He didn't even know me."

"Yea, but he put his own life in jeopardy for you. He saved you life. I mean, you owe him your life. That's a pretty intense thing between you two."

"Luke, it's not like we sat down and planned the whole thing out. We didn't have a map, we didn't have a chart, it just happened. And we were stuck."

"But you were trying to save your life."

"And yours. Don't you get it? Don't you get that had to make you believe every bit of this in detail that this marriage was real? Because if you didn't, I was so afraid of what you might have done."

"Well now it's starting to make sense, Haley. That's why you went to the cottage; because you knew what that place meant to me. You knew that if I caught the two of you there together, you knew how I'd feel and what it would do to me."

"I knew you'd walk away."

"It's just the idea of the two of you sleeping together, Haley. I just don't wanna think about it."

"Lucas, I didn't. I never slept with him. Not there and not anywhere. We slept in the same bed, but we never had sex."

"I just can't get past the idea of hard it must have been for you lying down next to Nathan. I mean, he was capable of killing you, Haley. How'd you even close your eyes at night?"

"Nathan is different. He made me feel-"

"Yea, I can imagine how he made you feel. You must have been scared out of your mind. You were going through hell, Haley."

Haley's cell phone ringing halted the conversation. She answered it quickly, without looking at the name. "Hello?...Hi…It's not actually a good time right now…I don't know that I can…Ok, ok. I'll be there as soon as I can…bye."

"Who was that?" Haley didn't answer. "Haley?"

"Hmm? That was Uncle Whitey. He needs some help running errands so I have to go meet him."

"I'll go with you."

"You know, it's a family thing."

"I guess I'm not considered part of the family anymore, huh?"

"Why don't you just stay here and wait for me so we can talk when I get back." Haley said, ignoring his comment.

"Wait here?"

"Yea. Just make yourself at home and I'll be back before you know it."

Lucas nodded as she stood up and grabbed her purse and car keys. As Haley opened the front door, she saw Lucas grab the remote and turn on the TV.

She hoped this didn't take too long.

* * *

Haley walked into the diner where Nathan had told her to meet him. She spotted Nathan and Chase sitting at a table and walked over. Chase stood up and pulled out the chair for her. "Here you go, Haley."

"Thank you, Chase." She said, sitting down.

"I'm glad you could make it." Chase said sitting down.

"Nathan said it was important, so…"

"Haley, Nathan wants an annulment."

"Oh."

"He said your marriage was a fake."

"We were forced into this, right?" Nathan asked.

"Right."

"And it was the best of two alternatives."

"And you told Chase that?" Haley asked.

"I told him everything."

"Look, Haley, before we can go anywhere with this, I need you to tell me that it was never a marriage. As a representative of the church, I need to hear it from both of you."

Haley took in a breath. "It was never a marriage."

"Ok. We're done." Nathan said standing up.

Chase put his hand on Nathan's arm. "Sit down."

"Chase, you heard her. She just said it. It was never a real marriage. You heard it."

"Nate, please sit down. I have one more thing." Nathan reluctantly sat down. "Haley, you tell me right now that you never had any feelings for this man. You tell me that Nathan Scott never meant anything to you." Haley just stared at Nathan. "Your silence speaks volumes, Haley."

"No. Yes. I don't know. This is…"

"Final? Yea it will be. Annulments are exactly that. Which is why we all have to be clear about our feelings."

"I'm clear." Nathan said.

"That's great, Nate. But I'm talking to your wife." Chase looked at Haley. "Haley, Nathan came to me and asked me to have your marriage annulled. But in order for this to happen I have to be sure where you both stand. So you need to tell me, Haley, that you don't love this man. That you've never loved him."

"It was never a real marriage."

"I think that's what shrinks call an avoidance."

"What?"

"You didn't answer the question, Haley. If you want to end this marriage, you have to tell me. You have an option here, Haley. It doesn't have to go this way."

Nathan sighed. "Chase, come on. It's over. We've already discussed it. Nothing's gonna change that, right?"

"Nate, nothing's been done that we can't work out."

"Chase, Haley wants this marriage to be over just as much as I do. More."

"All it takes is for one of you to speak up, to reach out. The church doesn't undo marriages because it isn't easy. This is not something that is taken lightly."

"I'm not taking this lightly, believe me." Haley said.

"Can I talk to Haley alone please?" Nathan said.

"Yea, sure." Chase said getting up and walking away.

"Why are you doing this? Why are you dragging it out? Haley, we never had a marriage. Nothing happened between us." Nathan said.

"How can you say that? You know that's not true. You know it as well as I do."

Nathan suddenly stood up and began walking away, but Haley stood up and grabbed his arm.

"Why are you doing this? Why are you making it more difficult than it is?" Nathan asked, getting angry.

"Because it's a difficult situation."

"Haley, we never had a real marriage."

"Yes we did."

"What is your problem?!" Nathan angrily shouted. Nathan took a deep breath to get a hold of himself. "You know, all you've ever talked about is how you are suffocating in this arrangement, how you hated being tied to my family, how you hated being tied to me. And now I am giving you your ticket out of this, I am giving you what you always wanted and you are stalling. What else do you want from me?"

Nathan didn't give her a chance to respond. He walked to the restroom. He needed to get away from her.

Chase saw Nathan walking away and went back over to Haley. "What happened?"

"I wish I knew." Haley sat down in her chair again.

"It didn't go well. I can see that." Chase sat down beside her.

"I do not understand why Nathan is being so cold to me."

"I think a better question would be, why are you reacting the way you are?"

"He's saying that he never felt anything for me. He's acting like he never cared about me ever."

"Acting is the key word here, Haley. Nathan has a lot more invested in this than he told you."

"What do you mean?"

"It was a big thing for him to go up against Deb for you, a very big thing."

"What are you talking about?"

"You know what? I've already said too much."

"No, Chase. Listen to me. I know that you know everything already. I need you to tell me everything that he told you. It's very important."

"This is what I've been trying to say all along, Haley. But nobody wants to listen."

"I'm listening."

"Nathan had to threaten his own mother to free you, to make sure that you'd be safe."

"He actually threatened Deb?"

"He got a copy of the family books. He told Deb that he'd turn them over to the FBI and expose the family if anything were to happen to you or your family."

"He would send his family to jail?"

"Not only that, Haley. He'd be implicating himself."

Haley was shocked. She couldn't believe he would do this for her. "I see."

"I hope you do, Haley. I really hope you do."


	34. Chapter 33

**I'm so glad you guys are enjoying the story! I'm getting lots of reviews and that makes me feel so good. This chapter adds a new person the mix and they may or may not affect Nathan and Haley's relationship. **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"_He got a copy of the family books. He told Deb that he'd turn them over to the FBI and expose the family if anything were to happen to you or your family."_

"_He would send his family to jail?"_

"_Not only that, Haley. He'd be implicating himself."_

_Haley was shocked. She couldn't believe he would do this for her. "I see."_

"_I hope you do, Haley. I really hope you do."_

Haley saw Nathan come out of the bathroom. She got up and walked over and stood in front of him. "Will you please talk to me? There are some things that you haven't told me apparently."

"I don't know what Chase told you-"

"Did you tell Deb that you would turn her into the FBI? Did you threaten her?"

"Chase has a big mouth."

"Is that true?"

"So what? So what if it is?"

"So you did that for me?"

"No, Haley. I was solving a problem."

"You were solving a problem by sending your mother to prison? I don't think so."

"It wasn't exactly like that."

"How was it?"

"It doesn't really matter because I don't wanna talk about it."

"I wanna talk about it because it matters to me. Because you went up against your family _again_, you put yourself at risk _again_, Nathan."

"Do you have a point, Haley?"

"Yes I have a point. Because if you go through with this, you could put yourself in jail!"

"Did you ever think that I might be doing this for myself? Maybe now I can have a life. So why don't you just stop asking so many questions and just, please sign the annulment papers."

"You already have them?"

"I'm having them drawn up. Haley, you can have your life back. They'll give you your life back like you never lost it. Like whatever happened between us never happened."

Lucas suddenly walked over to them. "Haley!" He had driven by the diner looking for her, when he saw her car in the parking lot. "Why didn't you tell me where you were going, Haley?"

"Does she report to you now?" Nathan asked.

"Is he forcing you into anything?"

Nathan chuckled. "Believe me, I could never force Haley to do anything."

"Look, I know the whole story between you now, Scott."

"Really? Congratulations."

"Yea, I know why you two got married. I know everything she had to put up with. So I suppose I should actually _thank _you."

Nathan laughed. "That's alright. You can just keep your gratitude. Don't worry about it."

Lucas looked at Haley. "So why didn't you tell me you were coming here to meet Nathan?"

"Nathan and I are talking about ending our marriage and I thought that might upset you."

"Why would that upset me, Haley?"

"I don't know. Nathan called me to come talk to his cousin, who is actually a priest, about getting an annulment."

"That's great. That would actually be like nothing ever happened between you two at all, right?"

"That's exactly what it means. The marriage meant nothing." Nathan said.

Haley looked at him with both hurt and anger. How could he be saying these things?

"Listen, Haley, I need to talk to Nathan alone. Can you give us a minute?" Lucas asked.

"Yea." Haley walked away and went back to sit next to Chase.

"Now you listen to me, Nathan. I know that Haley was marked. I know that she was one of your targets. You're gonna stay away from her."

"Don't worry about it. I took care of it. I made sure that Haley would be protected."

"Like you made sure Peyton was protected?"

"That really bothers you, doesn't it?"

"You just found her at a tough time and you kind of took advantage of her."

"I don't hear Peyton complaining."

"Yea, well stay away from both of them."

"Wait. Why do you care what I do with Peyton? I thought you were with Haley?"

Haley walked back over to them with her purse in her hand. "You know what, Lucas? I think we should go. When you get the papers you can send them over and I will sign them." Haley said, looking at Nathan.

"Ok. I will take care of it."

"So it's over?" Haley asked, trying to hold in her tears.

"Yep."

Lucas placed his hand on the small of her back. "Come on. There's no reason for you to ever see Nathan Scott again."

As the couple left, Nathan closed his eyes to stop the tears from falling.

* * *

Haley scurried around the kitchen making sure everything was ok. She checked on the pasta on the stove, the chicken in the oven and made sure the table was set. "This is gonna be a perfect night." She said out loud. "It has to be." Suddenly the smoke alarm went off. "Great!" Haley yelled as she stood up on a chair and waved a towel under it.

She heard the front door open and Lucas calling. "Haley? What's going on?"

"Lucas! Stop! You're early. You need to go."

Lucas grabbed her arm and helped her down from the chair. Haley tried to push him out of the kitchen toward the door. "I didn't want to be late for dinner. Stop."

"Lucas, dinner isn't ready, I look like a mess, I smell, I'm sticky. Go somewhere-"

"You look beautiful." Lucas said, grabbing the sides of her face.

"Stop. You're making me feel worse."

"What are you freaked out about? Stop it."

"Because I wanted this night to be perfect and everything is going crazy. And I've been going nuts all day."

"Slow down. It's gonna take a couple months, ok. We're not gonna get it all back in one night. It's gonna take some time."

"Yea, yea you're right. Ok."

"Slow down, ok."

"I'm trying to slow down."

"You've gone through a nightmare the past couple of months."

"Yea, it was really, really intense."

"Look, you don't have to prove anything to me, ok."

Haley started walking away from him. "I'm not trying to prove anything to you, Nathan." Haley stopped in her tracks when she realized what she said. Haley turned back around and looked at Lucas.

"Lucas, I am so sorry. I cannot believe that I just called you Nathan. I am so sorry." Haley said, walking over to Lucas and hugging him. "Listen, it didn't mean anything. I've just spent so much time with him the past few months. I didn't even think about it."

Lucas pulled back and looked at her. "Stop it, ok. It's no big deal."

"It is because you are the man that I love. You, not Nathan. Not Nathan."

"Stop it. It's forgotten, it never happened."

"I'm just really so stupid sometimes. I don't even think about it. I'm sorry."

"Hey, hey. You've been going through a lot of stress lately. You've been busy trying to save my life, and Peyton's life and your family. So what? It's just one little slip."

"You're right. It was just one little slip. You understand, right? You know why I had to marry Nathan? You understand why I had to stay in that house and pretend that it was real, right?"

"I know what happened. It's gonna take us some time to get back where we were, but we're on track. I mean, this is proof."

"Yea. What's the rush? We have the rest of our lives. Right?"

"Of course. We'll just slow down and take our time. It's not gonna all come back at once."

"You're right. You are so right. How could I love anybody else? Especially someone like Nathan."

"I'll be damned if I know anything about that one."

"I couldn't and I wouldn't. You are the only man that I love." Haley looked around the kitchen and noticed that dinner was still not ready. "I feel like this night is cursed."

"Haley, stop. This night is gonna be fine. Just like we're fine."

"Ok. Can you just help me?"

"What do you want me to do?"

"Why don't you pour some wine."

"I think I can handle a little wine." Lucas joked.

"Ok."

Lucas walked over and grabbed the wine bottle off the table and began pouring two glasses. "We do make a fine team, don't we?"

"The best." Haley walked over to Lucas and he handed her a glass of wine. "To us."

"To us." He agreed, tapping his glass to hers.

Haley noticed the look on his face. "What?"

"Why are you still wearing your wedding ring?" Haley didn't answer. She just looked at him. "Haley, you said you hated this guy and you couldn't wait to get away from him."

"I know."

"This ring is the only thing that ties you to him forever and you're still wearing it. Why is that?"

"I wasn't thinking about it, Lucas."

"Why don't you let me take it off?"

"No. I got it." Haley slowly slid the ring off her finger and set it on the kitchen table. "I'll return the ring tomorrow."

"I really missed you."

"I've missed you too. I miss the way things were before Nathan."

"Look, can we just forget about Nathan? It's just you and me." Lucas leaned in a kissed her. "That's our first step to getting back to the way we were."

"Yes. I mean, that's what I want more than anything."

"You sure you're ready for that?"

"Yea."

"You wanna go back to my place after this?"

"That sounds like a great idea. Why don't you go upstairs to my room and get my coat and I will finish cleaning up."

"Ok. I'll be right back." Lucas said, kissing her again.

When he was out of the room, Haley reached down and felt her wedding ring. It was finally over. Her life was finally free of Nathan Scott for good. She was happy. She loved Lucas. She belonged with him.

So why did she feel like someone had just ripped her heart out?

* * *

Nathan was at the bar with a drink sitting in front of him. He couldn't seem to keep away from Tric. He was hoping that being around other people would keep his mind off of Haley.

"Please tell me that's not tequila." Peyton joked as she walked over to him.

"No. I will not be touching that stuff for a long time."

"And neither will I. Although we can't blame liquor for what happened between us."

"No we can't. Misery loves company. You had just found out that your whole life was a big lie and I was-"

"Lying to yourself?"

"Excuse me?"

"You know, about Haley, your feelings for her, how you love her."

"Peyton, can we stick a fork in that subject, please? It's done. I'm having my marriage dissolved as we speak and I am moving on."

"Right, of course. That's why you're here, in a bar, drinking alone."

"Excuse me, but I happen to be meeting some people here tonight. One for business and one for pleasure."

"For pleasure?" Peyton mocked.

"Yep."

"Ok, is this one for pleasure of the female persuasion?"

"As a matter of fact, yes."

"Well, if you're planning on bringing a hooker to my place, you can just forget about it. I don't run that type of place, ok."

"Why can't it be a date?"

"Because you're not over Haley."

"I told you. Haley is history, she's a non-issue."

"Right. And I can't even remember Lucas' last name. What is it? Roe. That's right." Peyton said sarcastically.

"I petitioned the church to have my marriage annulled. And since I have connections-"

"Your cousin Chase?"

Nathan nodded. "It's done deal."

"You don't waste any time, do you?"

"Why should I, Peyton? Haley and I never had a real marriage. You know that."

"You never really gave it a chance."

"Why should I do that? Haley's heart belongs to Lucas. And frankly, he's welcome to it."

"Can I ask you something?" Peyton said.

"What?"

"Do you like your family business?"

"It's what I was raised to do, Peyton."

"Well, Deb doesn't seem like the kind of woman that wants to retire at all."

Nathan noticed a man had walked into the club. He got up and walked over to the man. "John, what's up?"

"Are you sure that you wanna go through with the delivery?"

"I told you so hours ago."

"I know, but I'm worried."

"What? What's the problem?"

"Are you sure you don't wanna clear this with the boss first?"

"Look, I don't need my mother's approval to do anything. You understand?"

"Whatever you say."

"Yea, I say do it. I don't wanna see you come around here with anymore questions."

John simply nodded before walking away. Peyton came over to Nathan with a confused look on her face. "I don't wanna know what that was about, do I?"

"No you don't."

"Well, I have to get back to business and you have business here obviously. Good luck with that. Have a good time."

"Excuse me? I don't need luck with this particular lady. We go way back."

* * *

Lucas and Haley walked into Tric hand in hand. "Listen, I'm gonna go put our stuff down. You stay here." Lucas walked away and Haley waited.

"Ok."

A brunette walked into Tric and stood next to Haley. "Hello." She said.

"Hi."

The brunette suddenly gasped. "Nathan!" she took off running toward him.

"Oh my God!" Nathan smiled as he lifted her into a hug. He pulled away from her. "Look at you. God, you are more beautiful than ever!"

"You don't look so bad yourself."

"I missed you so much."

"Not as much as I missed you."

"I am so happy to see you. You don't even know. I love you so much."

"I love you too."

The pair hugged again as Haley watched the entire interaction unfold. Lucas came back and stood next to her. Haley decided she wanted to know who this woman was so she walked over to Nathan and Lucas followed.

"Hi." She said.

Nathan noticed her standing there and pulled away from the woman. "Hey."

"I didn't expect to see you here." Haley said, eyeing the woman.

"Actually we're about to take off."

"Nathan, don't you think you should introduce us?" The brunette asked.

"This is Haley and Lucas."

"Hi. It's nice to meet you." The brunette smiled.

"Yea, I don't get to meet many of Nathan's friends." Haley said, with a hint of jealousy in her voice.

The brunette chuckled. "Friend? I think we're a little more than that."

"Haley, why don't we get out of here." Lucas suggested.

"No. Don't worry about it. We were just about to leave." Nathan said.

"I'm actually surprised I haven't met you before." Haley said, looking at the brunette.

"I've been in California a little more than two years now."

"Two years? Really?"

"Yea, you can't imagine how much I've missed this guy."

"I'm sure you did."

"Haley, let's go. They probably have a lot of catching up to do." Lucas said.

"So now you're back after two years?" Haley continued questioning.

"I couldn't believe it when Nathan called. He told me he needed me here as soon as possible. I guess he missed me as much as I missed him."

"I guess he did."

"Well, we're gonna take off so it was good seeing you guys." Nathan said.

"Come on, Nathan. We just got here."

"Well I wanna go someplace else."

"Why? I think this place is cool. You guys should come have a drink with us. It'll be fun."

"Oh no. I think Lucas is right. I mean you guys probably have a lot of catching up to do. And so do we. So we'll see you." Haley said, grabbing Lucas hand and leading him away.

* * *

Haley was lighting candles all around Peyton's office. They had decided to come here after the awkward encounter with Nathan and that mysterious brunette woman he was with. Haley didn't want to admit it, but she was jealous. More than jealous, she wanted to rip the girl's throat out.

"Well, we're finally here." Lucas said.

"Alone at last." She chuckled nervously.

"You know, it's been a long time, Haley."

"Yea that's all I've been able to think about, actually." Haley walked over and turned on the radio. "Something to put us in the mood."

"All I need is you."

"You can't imagine how much I've missed this." Haley said, walking back over to him. She pulled him closer and kissed him. Lucas pulled away. "Ok, what's wrong?" Haley asked, slightly annoyed.

"I don't know. Why don't you tell me."

"I'm just trying to be close to you, Lucas."

"Well why don't you stop trying so hard."

"What's wrong with you?"

"What's wrong with me? When we were downstairs…I'm just kind of getting the impression that you're thinking of Nathan when you're with me."

Haley scoffed. "I am not thinking of Nathan. I can't even believe that you would say something like that. Where does that…"

"Where does it come from?"

"Yea."

"So back downstairs, when you were watching whoever that woman was with Nathan, that didn't upset you at all?"

* * *

Nathan and the brunette sat beside each other at the bar. Nathan had just ordered a drink for the two of them. "You have to tell me everything, Nathan. I wanna know everything that's going on in your life."

"Nothing much."

"Come on, there must be something in the last two years."

"Nope. Not really."

"I know what you're thinking about. You're thinking about Damien. You miss him."

"Yea, I do."

"I miss him too."

"It was a terrible accident."

"It's that girl Haley, isn't it?"

"What do you mean?" Nathan asked.

"That's why you're so distracted. Look at you. She's really gotten to you, hasn't she?"

"She's not in my life anymore." Nathan said, taking a sip of his drink.

"Anymore?"

"Forget it. It doesn't matter."

"You're so obvious, Nathan. She's really gotten to you."

"Can we drop this, please?"

"No! I've never seen you like this. And if this girl is important to you, I have a right to know."

"Look, I don't wanna talk about her anymore, ok."

"Did you date her?"

"No. We didn't date."

"Then who is she to you?"

"We were married."

"Married?! You got married and you kept that from me?!"

"It's not that simple."

"I can't believe this. I tell you everything. I thought we were close."

"We are. It's just…it's over. My marriage meant nothing. Haley means nothing to me now."

"You couldn't just pick up the phone and mention that you got married?"

"I was going to. It just happened so fast."

"Brooke, I'm getting married. How long does that take? Like five seconds?"

"There is more to it than that." Nathan argued.

"Then tell me."

"Brooke, no. I'm sorry."

"Why?"

"Because it's complicated. It's difficult to explain."

"Try me."

"Maybe I don't want you to get involved."

"Well I'm already involved."

"Look, neither one of us wanted to get married. We really didn't have a choice."

"You were forced to get married?" Brooke asked.

"Pretty much, yea."

"Is she pregnant?"

"No! She's not pregnant."

"Tell me the truth, Nathan."

"She was in trouble and I married her to help her out. But that's it. It's over. The marriage is getting annulled right now."

"So how long were you married?"

"Too long. It was a big mistake."

"Then why do you look so sad?"

"Don't worry about me, ok. I'm so glad you're here." Nathan said. "I missed you."

"I missed you too."

Nathan leaned over and kissed her forehead.

"How come you didn't tell her about me? Don't you think she should know I'm your sister?"


	35. Chapter 34

Haley walked over to Lucas. He was standing away from her, looking out the window. When she wasn't able to answer his question, he knew the answer. "Lucas, you are the only one that I'm thinking about right now."

"That's not really an answer, now is it, Haley?"

"Come on. What do I care if Nathan is with some other girl?"

"You tell me. Enlighten me."

"I was just surprised. That's all."

Lucas turned around to look at her. "You weren't upset?"

"So Nathan got together with an old girlfriend. Why should that bother me? I mean, good for him. He's moved on, he's out of our lives."

"And is that what you want?"

"What I want is for things to be back to the way they were before Damien, before we got involved with the Scotts. Look, I don't wanna talk about that, Lucas. Can you just look at me? Can you just try and remember how we were, how much we loved each other, how we used to talk about our future together?"

"That's all I've ever wanted, Haley."

"That's what I want too. Lucas, cutting you out of my life was the hardest thing I have ever had to do and now that I have you back, I don't want anything to get in the way of that."

Haley hugged him, but saw Nathan kissing her on their wedding night. The way he was so gentle with her, the way she felt.

She had to get that image out of her mind and concentrate on Lucas. She kissed him frantically, hoping that would stop the images of Nathan from popping up in her mind.

The door of the office slammed shut. Haley and Lucas stopped kissing and saw a very pissed of Peyton standing there. "Why don't you two just go find some hotel room and do it there."

"Calm down, Peyton. Nothing was gonna happen. We were just talking." Lucas defended.

"Whatever. This is my office. So take your hormones and get out."

"Why don't you just chill out and relax." Lucas said.

"I can relax. I'll relax as soon as the two of you leave."

"Let's just call it a night, Lucas." Haley said, grabbing her stuff.

"Wait, wait. We weren't doing anything."

"It's awkward, ok."

"Where do you want to go?"

"I'm just gonna go home."

"Home? What are you talking about, Haley?"

"Look, you don't have to drive me or anything. Just stay here. I'll be fine. I'm just gonna call a cab."

"Are you sure that's what you wanna do?"

"Yes."

"You don't have to go."

"I know. We're gonna have a place of our own soon enough, right? And we can go to the cottage until then. Ok? Goodnight, Lucas." Haley kissed him on the cheek before walking past Peyton and out the office door.

* * *

Haley rummaged through the drawers of the kitchen. It was early, but she couldn't sleep. Jake and Abby walked into the kitchen in their pajamas, having been woken up by her slamming the drawers. .

"Is there something I can help you find?" Jake asked.

"No. I'm just looking for the spare key." She said, grabbing it from one of the drawers.

"What do you need it for?" Abby asked.

"I've been thinking a lot about this and I hope you guys are ok with it. But I've decided to ask Lucas to move in with me."

"You just got out of a marriage. Don't you think you should give yourself a week or two to figure out what you want?" Jake said.

"No. I know what I want. I want Lucas. We've been kept apart for way too long."

"So you guys have been able to put things back the way they were before? Just like that?" Abby asked.

"Yea. Everything is actually better than it was before. We were here last night and it was perfect. We had a great time and I really remembered why I fell in love with Lucas in the first place. And it was great. Everything was perfect." Haley lied.

"You know, Haley, you and Lucas should think about taking things slow. With everything that has happened, it's probably going to be awkward." Abby suggested.

"Nothing is awkward. Please!" Haley smiled. Abby gave her a look. "Alright, there have been a few problems…slight…minor."

"How slight?" Abby asked.

"Dinner was a disaster last night."

"Ok. Do you wanna talk about that?"

"Well, I just feel like we are playing parts. Like we're trying to be Haley and Lucas. We're trying to do what Haley and Lucas used to do."

"And you're obviously not feeling it, right?" Jake asked.

"I want to. I really do."

"That will come, Haley. I know that you love Lucas, but when you left him everything changed. It had to." Abby said.

"I know. And that's why I have to make it up to him. Because I caused him so much pain."

"And you think Lucas moving into our house is going to fix that problem?" Jake asked.

"Yea, I do. Because we need time to work on our relationship, right? And I need to do that without anything interfering."

"Maybe you shouldn't try so hard, Haley. You know, just let these things work themselves out." Jake suggested.

"Things aren't going to work themselves out. I have to work at them. It's up to me to repair them."

"I can't force you to tell me what's really going on, Haley. We've been through this. But it's obvious that there are some questions that you haven't answered since you and Nathan broke up. And one of them is do you still care about him?"

"No, Jake. No, I don't. I told you that I was just acting."

"From where I was sitting at that wedding, it occurred to me that it was real."

"Well, that's not true."

"Maybe you're pushing this so hard because Nathan is still on your mind." Abby suggested.

"No. Nathan was never on my mind. In fact, I saw him at Tric last night with another girl. There you go."

"Did that bother you?" Abby asked.

"Why should that bother me? I mean, I don't care who he's with. I'm with Lucas now. I know you guys think I'm rushing into things like I always do, like I did with Lucas and then with Nathan. And now I'm doing it again, right?"

"Are you?"

"Abby, I know what I have to do."

"Alright. We can't force you to do anything. This is your decision."

"Yea."

"I just hope you're doing it for the right reasons."

"Well I do love Lucas and I do want to spend the rest of my life with him."

"All Abby and I want is for you to be with someone who treats you right. Ok?" Jake said.

"Thank you. Listen, I know it's gonna be kind of crowded at first, but we'll get used to it, right? Ok, I'm gonna go tell Lucas the good news." Haley said. She grabbed the keys off the kitchen table and walked out the back door.

* * *

Nathan led Brooke into Tric. He was meeting his mother here, but decided that his mom needed to know that Brooke was in town. Nathan spotted his mother sitting at a table and placed his hand on Brooke's back. "Come on."

"No."

"Will you relax. It's just our mother."

"Right. That's like saying 'Relax, it's only a snake.' "

Nathan chuckled. "She is gonna be thrilled to see you. You know that."

"Sure. And that's why you had to bring me home behind her back."

"What? You can't come home?"

"Actually I'm gonna let you explain that to her."

"Come on. Stop it. You're her little girl."

"Who she tried to keep in California for the rest of my life." Brooke argued.

"It's gonna be fine."

"She's not gonna like this."

"It's going to be ok. I'll be right there." Nathan said.

Deb turned her head and noticed them standing there. Nathan smiled and waved. Deb smiled and stood up. "Brooke! What are you doing here?" Brooke walked over and hugged her. "My baby." When they separated, Deb looked at Nathan. "What is she doing here?"

"I wanted to come home. I missed you both." Brooke said.

"I missed you too, sweetheart. But you should not have come home."

"Nathan said you'd be excited to see me."

"I am excited to see you."

"What's the problem, mom?" Nathan asked.

"The problem is that it was unexpected, I didn't have time to plan."

"Well I wanted it to be a surprise."

"Well you succeeded. Come. We'll sit, we'll talk, we'll spend some time together and then you will get back on a plane to go back to school."

"No. I just got here."

"I wish you had called me to tell me that you were lonely. I would have come to visit you. I could've planned a beautiful trip to Paris-"

"Mom, no. I wanted to come home. I feel like I'm losing my family. You didn't even let me come home for Damien's funeral!"

"I wanted to save you from this pain."

"I needed to say goodbye. Instead I had to grief all by myself."

"Brooke, I explained it to you. There was no reason for you to get involved." Nathan said.

"Nathan, please. He was my brother and I loved him too. You didn't even explain to me what happened."

"I just didn't want anything to distract you from your schoolwork." Deb said.

"But I miss you, mom."

"Baby, you know I miss you too. I wish when I was your age that I was doing the things that you are doing. You're gonna thank me some day. I promise you." Deb grabbed Brooke's hands and stepped back. "Let me take a look at you. You're too skinny. Don't you think so, Nathan?"

"I think she looks great."

"Maybe I'm just not used to it. And that skirt, it's too short. I hope you don't run around like that at school."

"Actually, I don't wear clothes at all. Things are a lot freer in California." Brooke joked.

"Don't make jokes about this. You're not there to catch boys."

"Come on. All the girls dress like this."

"You are not all the girls. You're special. Don't forget that."

"I know, mom."

"You act like it, you dress like it, and you carry yourself as if you know it."

"Easy, mom. Easy." Nathan said.

"You're not helping, Nathan."

"Oh but I think he's been your perfect little helper. He didn't even invite me to his own wedding." Brooke said.

"You told her about that?" Deb asked.

"Because I squeezed it out of him. I don't know what's the big secret."

"Look, I told you. It was a mistake. I'd rather forget it." Nathan said.

"That's the macho act he keeps giving me. But I know he's really upset about it."

"We all were. It was a terrible thing." Deb lied.

"Listen, I have to use the restroom. And hopefully you'll tell me the truth when I get back." Brooke walked away.

Deb waited until Brooke was out of earshot and glared at Nathan. "How dare you go against my wishes and bring your sister back home." Deb said angrily.

"She's your daughter, mom."

"This is because of what I did to Haley, isn't it? You're trying to get back at me. You know very well that I don't want your sister to know anything about the family business. I have tried to protect all I could and now you're putting things in jeopardy. You have no right."

"Excuse me? I have every right. I'm her brother. Maybe I wanted to bring her here for myself. Did you ever think about that? Maybe I wanted to spend some time with her."

"That was very selfish of you."

"Selfish? Who am I gonna talk to? You? Haley is gone, Damien's dead, I have no one on my side."

"_I_ am on your side." Nathan laughed at the comment. "My God, Nathan, don't you think that I have missed Brooke too? Don't you think that after we lost Damien that I wanted to take the both of you in my arms and hold you tight and never let you go?"

"You have a strange way of showing it."

"Don't ever doubt that I love all my children. I think about Brooke everyday. As I think of your father and your brother everyday."

"But the difference is, she is alive and she belongs here with us." Nathan said angrily.

"You know that we will not let our emotions get in the way. I have done everything I can to protect her from who we are and what we do. And I'll be damned if I let your broken heart ruin everything."

"Well she's only here for a week. I'll make sure she stays away from the business, ok."

"No you will not. I don't trust you. You've already proven you're disloyal to the family."

"I am not one of your cronies. Don't ever talk to me like one. I said I'd handle it. And despite what you think, I am in control."

"No you're not. You haven't been in control ever since Haley James came into your life. You've been angry, you've been out of control and I will not let you stop me from raising Brooke right. She will not have the life that I had. She will never find out about this business."

"What are you talking about, mom?" Brooke asked. She had just walked up and heard what Deb had said. "You two were talking about me weren't you?"

"Mom was just saying how happy she is to have you home."

"How could you think anything else? Your brother and I were just talking about all the wonderful things we're gonna do together."

"Really?"

"And you're gonna spend time with your grandmother, maybe we'll do a little shopping and find you some longer skirts, maybe we'll have dinner at the country club. There are so many things to do in such a short amount of time."

"Actually it's not that short." Brooke said.

"What do you mean?"

"I've decided to make a change."

"What are you talking about?" Nathan asked.

"I'm not going back to school. Spending time with Nathan last night and you seeing you convinced me. I'm staying here, mom. And I want to be a real part of this family."

"Brooke, I thought that we agreed that you were just here for a week." Nathan said.

"I changed my mind."

"Brooke, there's nothing that would make me happier than to have you near me, but right now school is more important." Deb said.

"I can transfer to Tree Hill University."

"Absolutely not! There's a reason I sent you to UCLA. I want you to have the best possible education. You couldn't do that at Tree Hill University."

"I know."

"You have to think about your future, Brooke."

"Please, mom. I-"

"Nathan is going to send you back at the end of the week as planned."

"How can I start thinking about my future when I can't stop thinking about my past?"

"What are you talking about?"

"My whole life, I've been from one boarding school to another. I've been away so long, I don't even know my own family."

"Sweetie, you know that's not true. You and I speak on the phone all the time, your brother texts you everyday. There hasn't been 6 months that have gone by that one of us hasn't come to visit you."

"But it's not the same thing as being here with you and you know it. I love your phone calls and your visits, but it's not enough. Families should be near each other."

"Brooke, you have everything a young girl could possibly want at your school. I've given you every possible advantage."

"I don't mean any disrespect, mom. I don't. You have given me everything, but the one thing I want more than anything else, you keep from me. I need my family."

"Baby, you're just upset because you're here and you're feeling homesick."

"Homesick? How can I be homesick when I've never had a home? My friends at school always ask me why I hardly ever go home. I don't know what to say to that because I don't understand it myself. Why, mom? Why can't I stay here? Please tell me."

"We've already discussed this, Brooke."

"No. You've discussed this. My opinions never mattered."

"Brooke, you're going to have to trust me on this, ok. You're better off at school than you are here."

"But it's not my home. I feel like I'm being punished for something."

"No. Brooke, you have never done anything wrong." Nathan said.

"Then why, mom? Are you ashamed of me? Am I some sort of disappointment to you?"

"No, of course not. Don't ever say that. You're my baby. I'm so proud to see this woman that you have become."

"I know you love me and I know you think you're doing what's best for me, but I'm a grown woman now. I have my own dreams. And I know I want to live my life."

"I've never heard you speak like this, Brooke. Somebody is feeding you ideas in your head."

"I have my own ideas, mom! It's about time you start to realize that and accept me for who I am. I'm not going back to school and that's final."

* * *

Haley opened the door to Peyton's office and heard Lucas and Peyton talking. She looked around and saw them by her desk.

"I'm done. I'm done pouring my heart out to you, Lucas. I told you, when Haley walks into a room and you keep your eyes on me and only me, then I'll believe that we have something real."

Lucas placed his hands on her face. "Peyton, right now I am only looking at you, ok. Only you."

Haley walked into the office. "What's going on?" she asked calmly. Lucas dropped his hands and turned around. "Don't everybody talk at once."

Peyton looked at Lucas. "Choose."


	36. Chapter 35

**New update for you :) I know you all want Lucas and Haley to break up so that Naley can get together, but it's gonna be a little while before they officially get together. A few more obstacles are in store for them. I mean, isn't Naley angst some of the best stuff in their love story? But don't worry, they will get together! I promise! **

**Enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

_Haley walked into the office. "What's going on?" she asked calmly. Lucas dropped his hands and turned around. "Don't everybody talk at once."_

_Peyton looked at Lucas. "Choose."_

"We're just talking about me cutting back hours at Tric. That's all." Lucas said.

"Yea. He's made his decision. And it's about time."

"Ok? And that's all that' going on?" Haley asked.

"Yep. That's definitely all that's going on." Peyton said angrily.

"Is there a problem? You guys seemed to be getting along fine before."

"No. Everything is fine, right?" Lucas said.

"No. Everything is not fine. Are you kidding me, Haley? You are not bothered that Lucas and I have been working together and spending all this time together late at night?"

"Well it is his job. I know you close Tric late." Haley responded.

"Get off it, Haley. You know how I feel about him. You know I love him. And yet here we are, spending all this time late at night alone."

"Look, I know how Lucas feels about me."

"Oh yea, you do. You never had to worry about anything, huh. And you never will."

"Peyton, come on. I didn't mean it like that."

"Yes you did, Haley. He's a one-woman man. He is completely devoted to you. Besides, you two have this whole Romeo and Juliet thing going on, right? Let's not forget this is gonna be a happy ending."

"Will you just take it easy?" Lucas said.

"No! Get real! Why don't you just prove your undying love for Haley and just move in together? You can live at the Haley's house, you can have your sweet life-"

"I'm not moving into Haley's house. That's not what I want."

"I don't really care what you want anymore!" Peyton shook her head and walked to the bathroom, slamming the door behind her.

Haley flinched when she heard the door slam. "Is that true?"

"What?"

"You said that you don't wanna live with me."

"Look, she was just trying to get a rise out of me. You know how she gets."

"Yea, I know how she gets. But you just said that you don't wanna live with me."

"I mean, I don't wanna move into your family's house. For starters, Jake wouldn't want me there."

"Actually, he's fine with it."

"You already asked him if I could move in?"

"Yea. He said he wouldn't interfere."

"That doesn't sound like much of an invitation, Haley."

"Lucas, my brother wants whatever is gonna make me happy. And that's why I came here because I want us back where we were."

"That's what I've always wanted."

"That's what I thought, but I'm not sure now." she said, playing with ring on her pinky.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Look, I feel like I walked in on something. Is there anything going on between you and Peyton?"

"No. Peyton was getting all worked up about me cutting back hours."

"I thought you wanted to have more time off?"

"I do. We were just talking about me leaving."

"The fighting I heard when I walked in sounded like two people who are a lot more than friends."

"Come on. That's ridiculous. Where would you get that idea? You're wrong."

"Am I? Come on. If you have feelings for Peyton, please tell me."

"Haley, I don't wanna talk about Peyton right now." Lucas said.

"We have to talk about Peyton, Lucas. After everything that's happened, it would only be natural for you to have developed feelings for her."

"You wanna talk about feelings, Haley? How about when we're together and you tell me that you love me and then two days later I find out you're married to Nathan Scott. How about you letting me walk in on you two in bed at the cottage. The cottage, Haley. Do you know what that did to me?"

"Yes. But you also know why I had to do that. You know why I had to marry him and pretend like it was real."

"But you don't know because you weren't there. But when I came home, Peyton was here. I felt like if my heart would have stopped beating I wouldn't have given a damn. She made me realize that I could go on, that it wasn't that big of a deal, I could get over losing you."

"I'm sorry, Lucas."

"I know you're sorry. And I know that it wasn't easy for you either. But there's more than that."

"Ok, what?"

"The way you were looking at Nathan at your wedding."

"You were there?!"

"Yea I was there. I had to go see it with my own eyes. And guess what? It looked pretty real to me."

"Well it had to look real, Lucas. There were all those people at the wedding."

"Yea. But that moment is stuck with me, Haley. You told me why you did it. You told me it was all an act and I believed you. And then I see you looking at Nathan when he's with that other girl and you did it again. I don't know what to think anymore."

"Can I tell you what I know? Can I tell you that I want us to get back to the way we were? Do you?"

"It's not gonna be that easy. I mean, we're not the same people anymore."

"I know we can't pick up where we left off."

"We don't know where things changed. You've been with Nathan this whole time…"

"And you've been with Peyton."

"Maybe you need some time."

"Maybe you're right." Her eyes began tearing up. "Maybe we both need time."

Lucas simply nodded. Haley closed her eyes and wiped the few tears that had fallen. She walked toward the front door and Lucas followed her. "You know this isn't like _goodbye_ goodbye, right?"

"I know. We're just taking some time."

"That's a good thing, right?"

"Yea."

"I'm sorry." Lucas said.

"For what?"

"I just didn't want any of this to happen."

"Lucas, you couldn't have know that I was gonna come over here and ask you to move in with me."

"You know how I feel about you, right?"

Haley nodded, trying to stop herself from crying. "I'm gonna go." Haley turned to open the door, but she stopped and hugged Lucas. They hugged each other like she had never experienced before…like they would never see each other again.

"Can you take that some place else?" Peyton said, annoyed.

The two pulled apart and Lucas wiped the tear that had fallen off her cheek. "I was just leaving." Haley said, before walking out the door.

"What are you waiting for, Lucas? Go on. Go after her."

"I'm not going anywhere, Peyton." He said, closing the door.

* * *

Nathan followed his mother as she walked to a secluded part of Tric. "You did this. You brought her home."

"No, no, no. I told her she could only stay for a week."

"Are you deliberately trying to destroy this family?"

"Excuse me?"

"It's bad enough what you would do to us over that James girl. But I never thought you would sacrifice your sister. Nathan, what is happening to you?"

"I would not do anything to hurt my sister. How could you even think that?"

"You are keeping me from protecting my daughter."

"Yea, from us. You can't keep her locked up in a tower like Rapunzel for the rest of her life."

"Well what would you prefer? That we tell her about the family business? What it is we have had to do to survive?"

"I don't know."

"You don't know much these days. Ever since you've been involved with Haley."

"Well I'm not involved with her anymore so you can leave her out of it."

"How can I when she's the reason for every stupid mistake you've been making lately?"

"That is enough." Nathan said forcefully.

"No. It's not nearly enough. You are wasting your heart on a worthless girl who doesn't even love you. And your sister may pay for it. You created this situation. Fix it." Deb walked away and left Tric.

Brooke walked over and put her head on Nathan's shoulder. "I'm sorry."

"What?"

"I screwed up."

"Believe me, I can handle Mommy Dearest."

Brooke chuckled and lifted her head. "Yea. You always could. You're the only one that was ever able to stand up to her."

"Well, you did a damn good job just now yourself."

"I was shaking." Brooke walked over and sat down at a table and Nathan followed.

"Brooke, she loves you."

"Then why doesn't she want me here? She always wants you right by her side. Me, she always sends across the country."

"I know it may not feel like it, but she really thinks she has your best interest at heart. It has nothing to do with not wanting you here. Believe me, the grass is not always greener on the other side."

"I don't care if the grass is purple. I need to be near my family. And it's not funny, Nathan."

"I'm not laughing."

"I mean, you didn't even invite me to your own wedding. Why doesn't anyone understand how that makes me feel?"

"Look, I told you it was not a big deal. It's over so just forget about that. It was a mess."

"You never did tell me what happened."

"There's nothing to tell. It didn't work out. That's it."

"And that's ok with you?"

"Yes that's ok with me. I told you, I'm through with Haley."

"You can pull that tough guy act with other people, Nathan, but not with me. I know you still care about her."

"I care about what happens to her."

"No. You care _about_ her. You still love her, don't you?"

"Look, that doesn't matter. It's over."

"What about forgiveness, Nathan? I know that doesn't come very easy to you, but if you love someone-"

"Brooke, too much happened between us. It can't be undone. It can't be fixed."

"Why? I still don't understand."

"There's nothing to understand. We were very different and I was an idiot to think that we could overcome our differences."

"Yea, you are an idiot if you let your pride stop you. If you love Haley, tell her. Don't let her go."

"Brooke, no. My marriage is over. I don't wanna hear anymore about it. Do you understand?"

"I know you think of me as just your little sister, but I still understand these things."

"I know. You've always been a hopeless romantic. But sometimes life doesn't have happy endings. Look, I wanna get back to the house. I need to talk to mom. Let's go."

"I'm gonna go check myself in the bathroom."

Nathan chuckled, knowing it was such a Brooke thing to do. "Ok. I'll wait for you here."

Brooke got up and walked toward the bathroom. She noticed Haley was on the phone, sitting at a table. "I miss you too. Listen, dad, I wanna ask you a question. Do you think it would be ok if I came and visited you for a while?...no everything's fine. I just miss you a lot…I'm not sure how long…I don't know…" Haley turned and saw Brooke standing there. "Hey, dad, I have to call you back….I love you too. Bye."

"Hi. Nathan didn't properly introduce us before. I mean about who I really am."

"That's alright. It's pretty obvious."

"Really?"

"You're an old girlfriend. Or I guess current would be the correct term."

Brooke chuckled. "I can understand why you thought that. I'm Brooke Scott, Nathan's sister. It's nice to meet you."

Haley couldn't contain the smile that formed on her face as the two shook hands.

Nathan walked over and saw the two talking. "Brooke?"

"Yea?"

"I'll meet you at the car."

"Ok. It was nice to meet you, Haley." Brooke said walking away.

"You too."

"Hey." Nathan said.

"Hi."

"Look, Father Thomas wants to see us both. He wants to talk to us about-"

"I'm not gonna be around."

"Why not?"

"I'm going to go visit my dad in Europe…today."

"For how long?"

"I'm not sure."

"Ok. Are you planning on coming back?"

"I don't know that either." Haley said honestly. "I don't know anything anymore, Nathan."

Haley walked away. She couldn't be around him anymore. If she was, she was afraid she would change her mind.

* * *

Nathan walked over to his mom, who was sitting at a table at Tric. It had been a week since Haley went to visit her father. Needless to say, he wasn't doing to well with her absence from his life. He couldn't believe she left Tree Hill. She was supposed to always be around. This was her home. He needed to be able to see her everyday. That's all he got now.

"Hey, mom." He said, sitting down next to her. "What was so important that you couldn't tell me over the phone?"

"You certainly took your time getting here."

"Hey. I left after you called me."

"I don't have much time. I'm on my way to a business dinner." Deb said.

"Really? Well, whoever _he_ is, I hope he enjoys your dress." Nathan said, eyeing his mother's outfit. This was not something he was used to seeing her in. Most of the time she wore suits. But right now, she was wearing a rather revealing dress.

"_Business _dinner, Nathan."

"Uh-huh."

"I'm meeting Daunte Fox. He might be the new head of our legal team."

"Daunte Fox? Like I said, I hope he enjoys your dress."

"You're being ridiculous."

"No not all. I think he's great. I think it's high time you got a life. I'm serious, mom. You've been going solo for a long time."

"Yea, I appreciate your concern, but I have a very full life. I have my business, I have my children, I'm fine."

"Your children are grown and your son is taking on more and more of the business every day. You're gonna have a lot of free time now. You should enjoy it."

"I'm looking for an attorney, Nathan. Not a boyfriend."

"Right. Who needs a boyfriend when you have Bear to escort you to events?"

"Alright. That's enough. My interest in Daunte Fox is strictly professional. He's a brilliant man, he's savvy, and with no conscience what so ever."

"Sounds like he'll fit right in. Nice credentials." Nathan said sarcastically.

"For my purposes, yes. Now the subject is closed. I wanna talk to you about your sister. I have assigned Bear to guard her."

"Why? From what?"

"From finding out anything. I'm not gonna have your sister finding out about this business. You hear me?"

"I thought we discussed this already. I said I will take care of it."

"We have to protect her from things that might hurt her. At least until I can get her back to school in California. And I'm worried about you too, Nathan."

"Me? I'm fine."

"No. You've not been yourself lately. It's not good for you and it's not good for the business."

"Yea." Nathan shook his head. "I'll be back."

"Ok."

Nathan walked outside Tric and made a phone call. "Hey, it's Nathan. Listen, I wanna take out another shipment…don't argue with me. You know where to meet me…ok…call me when you get there."

Nathan walked back in Tric and noticed that Daunte had shown up. He was sitting at the table with his mother so he decided to sit at the bar. He ordered a drink and waited for the phone call.

* * *

After about a half hour, and three drinks later, Deb walked over and placed her hand on his shoulder. "Nathan, I wanna talk to you."

"What's the matter, mom? Did you business meeting fall through or something?" Nathan asked, slightly drunk.

"I know what you're doing. You're headed for trouble. Ever since Haley left Tree Hill, you've been running crazy with reckless behavior."

"Well, news flash. I don't even think about Haley anymore. So why don't you get off my back."

"Nathan, you and Brooke are all that I have left. If something should happen to you-"

"I gotta go." Nathan said, checking his phone.

"Nathan."

"What?"

"Please, be cautious. They're watching us thanks to Haley."

"No. Thanks to _you_. You're the one who called the FBI on us in order to pin it on Haley, remember?"

"I just want this war between us to end. Nathan, I love you. You're my son."

"The annulment papers are gonna be ready any day now. Let's call it an early mother's day gift because that's the only thing that you're ever gonna get from me."

Nathan stood up and headed toward the door. "Nathan, where are you going?"

"Don't wait up." Nathan shouted before walking out of the door.

* * *

Nathan carried two boxes in his hands. He had met Kevin, an associate of the business, at the local docks to do another shipment. "Come on!" He said.

"I don't like this, Nathan."

"Stop complaining, ok."

"Deb said to lay low for a while."

"This isn't Deb's deal. It's mine!" Nathan said angrily.

"This night stuff is not a good idea."

"Suddenly you've got ideas? Huh?"

Suddenly sirens came out of nowhere. Kevin dropped his boxes and took off. "Damn it!" Nathan yelled.

"Police! Put your hands up!" they yelled.

Nathan dropped the boxes and held his hands up. "Is there a problem, officers?"

Two police officers walked over and shown their flashlights in his eyes. "What are you doing out here?" one officer asked.

"I'm just unloading my van." Nathan said.

"You got any idea what time it is?"

"Yea, I know what time it is."

"What's in the boxes?"

"Just chips, sodas, vending machine stuff."

"You hungry?" the police officer asked.

"No. I'm a supplier."

"Yea, yea. We know you're a supplier alright."

"Excuse me?"

"I just didn't know the Scott family was so stupid."

"Scott?" the other officer asked.

"Yea. As in low life, dirt bag, scum." The first officer answered.

Nathan dropped his hands and swung at the officer and hit him. The other officer quickly shoved him into the fence. "You don't know my family, man. Don't even pretend to!" Nathan yelled. "I am just doing my job and you guys come over and harass me."

"You've got a lot of guts." The officer said, cuffing his hands behind his back.

"Yea, well he disrespected my family."

"You hit an officer. You're under arrest. Let's go." The officer pulled Nathan off of the fence and toward their squad car. "You have the right to remain silent. That means shut up. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law."

* * *

Michael Dupre led Nathan through the police station to the chair by his desk. "This is a mistake. There is no Scott crime business. It's all a creation of the media."

"Creation of the media? You can do a whole hell of a lot better than that, Scott." Detective Dupre said, sitting Nathan down in the chair.

"You don't like the truth, detective?"

"No, actually I love the truth. Would you like me to get a tape recorder?"

"Without my lawyer present? I don't think so."

"A lawyer? Now why would you need a lawyer if you're innocent?"

"Nice try." Nathan smirked.

"No, really. I'm really curious about how it all went down. How you got busted with your buddy there lifting about $200,000 worth of electronics off the back of a truck and then what did you do? You assaulted a police officer. Looks like you bought yourself a whole lot of trouble, Scott. And right now, I'd be thinking about how to save my own hide because there is absolutely no way that Deb Scott is gonna get you out of this."


	37. Chapter 36

Brooke walked into the police station and immediately began to look for Nathan. When she had gotten the call at the house, she jumped in the car and came over. When she spotted him, she headed over to him. "Nathan!"

"Brooke, why are you here?"

"What do you mean why? Because you're here."

"Get out of here. Go home."

"No, Nathan. I came to help you."

"Detective, will you get her out of here?"

"Nathan, please."

"She doesn't know anything. She doesn't belong here." Nathan continued. "Brooke, go home."

"No let me help you."

"And you are?" Detective Dupre finally asked.

"Brooke Scott. I'm Nathan's sister. And you're making a terrible mistake."

"Is that right, Miss Scott? Maybe you should go home."

"No. Not without my brother."

"Brooke, do what he says." Nathan said.

"Let him go."

"Your brother is probably safer with us. See he was caught stealing. As a matter of fact, he was cutting in on the turf of another mob family."

"Nathan, please tell me that's not true." Nathan just looked at her.

"Why don't you sit down and I'll be back." Detective Dupre said.

Brooke sat down and looked at Nathan. "Why aren't you saying anything? What did that officer mean about our family? Criminals? Mob?"

"Look, they're making it up. These guys get off harassing people like us. This whole thing is a joke, it's bull."

"The police don't just arrest someone for no good reason, Nathan."

"They're making a scapegoat out of me. And all this talk about the mob is a lie. Go home."

"I've got to hand it to you, little sister." An officer walked over and looked at Brooke. "You're good."

"Lay off her, man. She's not under arrest, is she?" Nathan said protectively.

"She's a pretty good actress though. Pretending like she doesn't know what's going on with her own family."

"What about them? I don't understand what's going on here." Brooke said.

"You mean to tell me that you don't know that your family is one of the biggest crime families in this state?" the officer asked.

"We're in the import/export business. And we pay our taxes, which pay your salary." Nathan said.

"Import/export business? That's one of the oldest fronts I've ever heard."

"Nathan!" Deb voice yelled through the station. She spotted Nathan and she and Daunte walked over to him. She was about to say something else, but saw that Brooke was sitting across from him. "Brooke! My God, what are you doing here? Listen to me. You are not to listen to what these men have said here. They're lying and you shouldn't have come here anyway."

"Why does everyone keep saying that? Am I not allowed to worry about my own brother? Am I not allowed to know what's going on?"

"Detective, has Mrs. Scott ever been arrested?" Daunte asked.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Detective Dupre said, walking back over to the group.

"No she hasn't. Has any member of the Scott family ever been arrested?"

"Where you going with this, Fox?"

"I am interested in their arrest record."

"They don't have one because they're smart. They cover their tracks. But we've been on to them for years."

"Your accusations are outrageous. Just like the brutality you inflicted on my client."

"Nathan resisted arrest and he hit his head." The arresting officer said, hearing the conversation and walking over.

Daunte laughed. "I've heard that song before, Officer. You're new here, but you got behind the blue wall pretty quickly."

"Nathan took the swing, ok. He started it."

"I have a witness who states that you manhandled my client."

"That's a lie."

"Alright, bring on your bogus witness. Bring on a hundred of them if you want. But that does not change the fact the Nathan Scott committed that crime." Detective Dupre said.

Daunte help up a piece of paper in Dupre's face. "This proves that Nathan was unloading his own property from the truck. He was not committing a crime. The owner is willing to testify."

Detective Dupre grabbed the paper out of his hands and read it. "How much did this cost you, counselor? Did you rough him up a little bit? Hang him out a window?"

"This is crap. They can't do this." Officer Grant said.

"You know what, David, they just did." Detective Dupre said, handing the paper back to Daunte.

"So, Detective, let's talk about the release of Nathan."

"Oh no. He still assaulted a police officer."

"We're not talking about Mr. Scott going to jail. We are talking about harassment, police brutality, slander, the relentless persecution of an entire family, and before I am through, Detective, someone will pay. Some bozo will be hung out to dry. So may I suggest that you release my client. Now."

"Go ahead, David." Detective Dupre said giving in.

"And we'd like a written apology from the chief of police and the commissioner, please."

"Don't push it, Fox." Detective Dupre said.

"So what now, Nathan?" Brooke asked, as Officer Grant uncuffed him.

"What now? Well, nothing. See I told you not to worry."

"Please, Nathan. I deserve to know the truth. You have to tell me what's going on."

Nathan grabbed Brooke's arm and led her to the side. "Brooke, there is no crime organization. The Scott family works hard for everything it has. And yea sometimes we step on people's toes and we're resented for it. But our family is honorable. And our family loves you very much. That's it. That's the truth."

"Ok, fine."

"Let's go." Nathan said, walking out the doors of the police station. Deb and Daunte followed.

"If that's all you'll tell me, then I'll go somewhere else for answers." Brooke said out loud. She shook her head before walking out the door to meet up with her family.

* * *

Nathan was sitting at a table a Tric on his computer. Since his little incident last night, he needed to get some things straight so that it wouldn't happen again. He looked up and saw Brooke walking in. He smiled at her, but he noticed that she looked angry.

Brooke slammed a stack of papers on the table in front of him. "What? What is this?" he asked, picking the papers up.

"You tell me. You're the one that's been lying to me about our family and who we are. You've been lying to me all along."

"Where'd you get this stuff?" Nathan asked.

Brooke sat down across from him and crossed her arms angrily across her chest. "It wasn't hard. I spent all morning at the library doing research."

"What are you thinking? Why would you do that?"

"Since no one wanted to tell me the truth, I decided to find out the truth about our family on my own. It's amazing how many times the Scott family has hit the front page. I mean, we're local celebrities and I didn't even know it."

"Don't believe everything you read."

"But it's all so interesting."

"It's all bull. It's lies."

"I really want to get your thoughts on this though. Let's see, what should I start with first? Indictments, money laundering, extortion? And that's just daddy alone. I haven't even gotten to mom yet."

"But do these articles say how many times anyone was ever convicted? Never, not one conviction. Not one charge ever stuck because no one ever did anything."

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?" Brooke asked.

"Yes. No one was convicted because we didn't do anything."

"So the police arrested you just for fun, Nathan?"

"Look, Brooke, all the harassment by the cops, all these lies in the press, it's been going on a long time. Even before we were born and we are still being persecuted for things our great-great grandfather did four generations ago."

"Those are the exact words our lawyers say in every article."

"Because it's true. Look, when our great-great grandfather came to this country, he had nothing. He didn't even know the language. The only way he could make a living for his family was bending some of the rules. And he wasn't the only one. Lots of businesses got started by bootlegging and smuggling. But as soon as he had enough to stand on his own, he made the business legitimate. And it's been that way ever since."

"Well maybe someone should say something to the media."

"Don't you think we have? But every time a new police commissioner or hotshot politician comes along, they go after us. We're an easy target."

"So nothing illegal goes on in our family anymore?"

"No. We have to be more honest than other businesses because we know we're being watched. That's why my mistake last night was stupid."

"That's funny. According to the lawyer, it was the police that made the mistake."

"Yea, it was. That's what I meant. It was just bad timing. That's it. That's the truth, Brooke."

"Even if I believe you, which I don't, there's still one story you haven't cleared up. I found a bunch of articles about Damien's death."

"Brooke, why would you dig that stuff up?"

"Because you said it was a terrible accident. According to this, it wasn't an accident at all. I want you to stop lying to me. If you don't stop, I'm just gonna have to go somewhere else for it."

"Where do you think you're gonna go?"

"Maybe one of your friends will be more talkative."

"What friends?" Nathan asked honestly.

"Even better, what about your soon-to-be ex wife?"

"Brooke, I don't want you talking to Haley. Do you understand? I don't want you near her."

"I don't care what you or mom have to say anymore. I'm not gonna listen to you."

"I'm sorry I brought you home."

"I can't believe you just said that!" Brooke cried.

"You are being a brat."

"You're the one that wanted me to come home because you said you needed someone to talk to, someone to confide in. You haven't told me anything!"

"It's complicated."

"But, Nathan, I love you. Damien's gone and mom is trying to keep me at arm's length. I don't have anything to hold onto anymore. Please let me in. I'm your sister. Please be honest with me."

"I'm being honest. And I'm sorry, but I think you're better off back at school."

"Don't do this to me, please."

"I'm gonna book you a flight back right now." Nathan said standing up.

Brooke stood up and grabbed his arm. "You know what? Maybe you're right. No one wants me here anyway. You keep lying to me and my own family thinks I'm the enemy."

"That is not true. It's not."

"Just do me a favor and get me a seat by the window."

Nathan sighed before walking away to call the airline.

* * *

When he finished the phone call, Nathan walked back over to the table he and Brooke were sitting at. But Brooke was nowhere to be found. All her stuff was gone and so were the articles she had brought in.

Nathan walked over to the bar. "Hey, excuse me." The bartender walked over to him. "Did you see that girl I was with before?"

"Yea, it was kinda hard to miss her."

Nathan ignored the comment. "Yea. Do you know where she went?"

"She left with Julian Baker a few minutes ago."

"Thanks." Nathan turned around and almost ran into Deb, who was standing behind him. "Hey."

"Nathan, where's Brooke? I thought she was with you?"

"She is."

"Well I don't see her anywhere. Haven't you been watching her?"

"Mom, I'm hanging out with her. I'm not keeping her under surveillance."

"It's dangerous to keep Brooke here. I told you that. Especially now since your run in with the law. She's bound to ask some uncomfortable questions."

"Yea, well she already has."

"And?"

"I lied to her. That is the Scott way, isn't it?"

"I want her back on a plane and in school."

"I'll handle it. I'm on it."

"Do you understand?"

"Yea, I do. I'm on it."

"Make sure you do." Deb said, before walking away from him and sitting down at the table he had been sitting at.

Nathan turned back to the bar. "Hey." The bartender walked back over to him. "When Julian Baker left, did you hear him say where he was going?"

"He picked her up here and the bar and they left together. I have a pretty good idea where they were going."

Nathan grabbed the bartender's shirt. "She's my sister. Don't ever talk about her like that again." Nathan let him go and dialed his phone. "Bear. Look, we have a problem…you've gotta help me find Brooke…ok call me when you find out."

Nathan walked over to his mom. "Mom."

"What is it? What's wrong?"

"Brooke took off. I don't know where she went."

Deb stood up. "What do you mean? She's out there somewhere all alone?"

"Well, she's not exactly alone."

"How could you let this happen, Nathan?"

"Oh no. Don't blame me. I turned my back for two minutes to book her a flight back to California. I came back and she was gone."

"You should have never left her alone."

"She told me she wanted to back to school. She told me she was ready. I'm not a babysitter."

"You know she wants to stay here as well as I do. You know she's intent on finding out what we're keeping from her."

"She is. She went to the library today and dug up a whole slew of articles on dad, on you, on the entire family."

"I knew this was gonna happen if we let her stay here."

"I thought I could protect her from all this, but…"

"Like you thought you could protect Haley? Face it, Nathan. You're out of control ever since that girl came into your life."

"You mean since you _drove_ her out of my life? Isn't that what you mean?"

"Grow up and get over it. Haley is poison to you and I am not going to let her destroy anymore of my family than she already has."

"You're not gonna touch her. I warned you."

"Don't worry. I'm not gonna do anything. But look at what she has done to you, Nathan. You get yourself arrested, you put Brooke in danger. Everything I have done to protect her has been ruined because of your obsession with this girl."

"Don't try to blame me for what you have done to Brooke." Nathan's phone rang, interrupting the conversation. "Yea?...where?...ok I've got it." Nathan hung up the phone and began grabbing his computer.

"Where is she?"

"I'm gonna take care of this."

"You've done enough already."

"I brought her here and I'm gonna take care of it." Nathan said forcefully.

"You're just gonna make it worse."

"Get off my back. I'm gonna get my sister and I'm gonna bring her back home." Nathan walked away from his mother and out the door.

* * *

Nathan entered the diner and saw Brooke sitting across from Julian. "Brooke."

"Nathan, what are you doing here?"

"I came to get you. Let's go."

"Wait. Brooke? You said your name was Megan." Julian said, placing his hand on hers.

"Get your hand off my sister." Nathan warned.

"I'm not your sister."

"Stop it. I'm not in the mood for this right now." Nathan said.

Brooke stood up and got in Nathan's face. "I asked you to be honest with me about our family. All that stuff about our family being persecuted because of our great-great grandfather-"

"Is true. It's all true."

"And so is the rest of it. All of it!"

"I don't know what this tool has been telling you, but it's not true. He's lying."

"No, you're lying. You're not my brother anymore. I don't even know who you are."

"You know what? We're gonna finish this conversation on the way to the airport." Nathan said, grabbing her stuff. He placed a hand on her back and forcefully pushed her toward the door.

"Let go of me!"

Julian stood up and grabbed Nathan. "Let go of her." Julian swung and hit Nathan square in the jaw. Nathan grabbed Julian's shirt collar ready to hit him.

"Stop it! Nathan, stop!" Brooke ran to stand between Nathan and Julian. "Nathan, let him go. He has nothing to do with this! Let him go! This is between us." Nathan slowly let Julian's collar go and stepped back. Brooke turned to Julian. "Look, I'm sorry. I should have told you the truth about who I am."

"It's ok. I understand why you wouldn't want anyone to know that you're a Scott." Nathan lunged for him again, but Brooke stopped him.

"Brooke, outside." Nathan grabbed her arm

"You think you're gonna ship me off to California?"

"I wanna talk to you! Outside!"

Brooke yanked her arm away from his grasp and turned back to Julian. "Look, I'm sorry. I'm sorry I got you involved."

"It's ok. Don't worry about it."

Brooke turned and walked toward Nathan. "We're not done." Nathan said, looking at Julian.

"I'll be here waiting." Julian responded.

Nathan angrily led Brooke outside. "Look, I'm not mad at you. I don't know what went on in there, but whatever he told you is crap."

"Why would he lie?"

"I told you. We have a lot of money. People are jealous and they resent us for it. They want to cut us down."

"But Julian said that you were forced to marry Haley and that mom wanted to kill her."

"How can you believe a word he says? You don't know him."

"Don't do this! If you love me, if you ever loved me, tell me the truth. Please. I'm begging you. Just tell me the truth. Because you know what? The questions won't stop coming. I'm gonna find out one way or another. Are we really the monsters everyone says we are?"

Nathan sighed. "Not you, Brooke. Never you."

"I trusted you. You knew how miserable I was. You knew I wanted to come home. I begged you to let me come home. Instead, I had to go on those stupid vacations to Milan or Hawaii or where ever else we used to go except here."

"You know we had a great time on those vacations."

"No, you had a great time on those vacations. I wanted to come home and be part of the family. Instead, I felt like a stranger and now I know why."

"I couldn't tell you. I couldn't. Ever since you were a little girl mom made me promise that I would never say anything."

"We're criminals!" Brooke began to get upset.

"No, we're not."

"We're just a bunch of mobsters, a bunch of thugs!"

"You're making sound a lot worse than it is."

"How could it be a lot worse? So you're family is in finance, mine is in the crime business. Can you please pass the ketchup?"

"Come on. It's not like that."

"How else is it?! Our saint of a mother ordered the execution of your wife!"

"She had her reasons."

"What reason could she have to have Haley killed?"

"I can't…you know those newspaper articles you showed me, the ones that said Damien died of head injuries?"

"The criminal investigation? The one that you said turned up nothing?" Brooke questioned.

"Well it doesn't mean that nothing happened."

"What do you mean?"

"Brooke, Damien wasn't the only one on the beach that night. Haley killed him."

Brooke froze and her eyes went wide. He couldn't have just said what she thought he just said.


	38. Chapter 37

"Maybe I didn't hear you correctly. Did you just say that Haley, _your_ Haley, killed Damien?"

"It was an accident." he began to explain.

"No. You just said she murdered him."

"He attacked her. He wouldn't leave her alone."

"So she bludgeoned him to death?"

"You know how Damien was. If he didn't get his way he exploded, he got violent. That's what happened with Haley."

"Exploded?"

"He was trying to rape her, ok. So she picked up a rock to defend herself."

"Who told you this?"

"Haley. Haley told me."

"Were there any witnesses?"

"No."

"So you believed her? You just took her word for it?!"

"She wouldn't lie to me, Brooke. Not about this."

"And why wouldn't she lie to you?! Why?! Because she loves you so much?! Because she's so in love with you?! If she was so in love with you, she would still be here, Nathan! And she would still be with you!" Brooke yelled.

"She didn't leave me, alright!" he yelled back.

"No. She just got away with murder! That's all she did."

"Listen to me. It was an accident. She did not mean to kill Damien."

"An eye for an eye, right? Isn't that what dad used to say?"

"This was not intentional. It wasn't like it was a hit or something."

"I don't care. Haley killed our brother so Haley must pay."

"Listen, don't talk like that. Don't you ever talk like that again." Nathan warned.

"Like what? Like a Scott?"

"Yes."

"You think I forgot about dad's life lessons?"

"How can you remember that? You were just a little girl."

"I remember. Mom used to send me upstairs, excuse me after dinner. But I used to sit at the top of the stairs and listen to every word dad would say."

"You listened?"

"Yes. And every night I got caught by mom. I would listen to him and she would ask me what I heard. I would tell her 'eye for an eye' and 'justice'. She asked me if I understood and I said no. But she knew because after that she sent me away to school. To protect me from all of this."

"Yes, because you don't have to be like the rest of us. You can be better. You can be so much better than that. You have to go back to school."

"I don't have to do anything."

"You're not safe here, Brooke."

"I don't care."

"You are gonna go back to California and forget that any of this ever happened."

"No. I won't forget it. I won't because I'm a part of this now. I'm a part of this family."

"Listen if you leave school, every dream that mom had for you to have a normal life will be gone."

"What about me? Huh? What about me, Nathan? When do I get to dream?"

"Why can't you just let it go for now? Just go back to school and finish your semester."

"Am I supposed to listen to you like a good little girl, Nathan? No, I won't anymore."

"If you quit school, you're gonna regret if for the rest of your life, Brooke."

"The only thing I regret, Nathan, is that none of you told me the truth about what's going on here. You left it up to a stranger to let me know about my own family!"

"What do you want me to say?! What do you wanna do?!" Nathan ran his hand over his face, trying to control his frustration.

"I'm gonna talk to mom."

"About what?"

"I'm gonna tell her about everything."

"You can't do that. It will kill her and you know that."

"And you don't think this is killing me too?"

"I know it is, Brooke." Nathan looked over and saw Julian walking toward them.

"Are you ok?" Julian asked.

"She's fine." Nathan responded.

"Look, I hope I didn't make anything worse for you." Nathan chuckled at his comment.

"No, I'm sorry. I'm really grateful. You really opened up my eyes." Brooke said.

Julian grabbed Brooke's hand and gave her a piece of paper. "Here, take my number. I want you to call me if you wanna talk about anything."

"Thank you, Julian."

"She's not gonna be calling you." Nathan said.

"How do you know? Maybe you don't know everything about me, Nathan." Brooke began to walk away, but Nathan grabbed her arm.

"Where are you going?"

Brooke yanked her arm from his grasp. "Will you just lay off? I'm not gonna talk to mom yet. I'm just gonna go for a walk."

"Where? Tell me where." Nathan pressed.

"I'm just gonna go for a walk. I need to think. Just leave me alone." She grabbed her stuff out of his hands and walked away.

As soon as she was out of view, Nathan shoved Julian. "You stay the hell away from her. She is off limits to you."

"And what if I don't?"

"Don't push me, Julian. It won't be good for your health."

"Maybe _you_ should stay away from your sister. You're the only one she doesn't want to have anything to do with. You and your mother."

"I have been protecting Brooke her entire life. It was working until you came along and shot off your mouth."

"You can justify anything, can't you? You're blaming me because your family sent away the only good person in it?"

"Are you out of your mind? You don't know a thing about my family. Don't push your luck, Baker."

"If that's a threat, Scott, you can save your breath. I'm not afraid of you. Look, you married my best friend and made her life a living hell. So I'm gonna say whatever the hell I want about you and your family. And as for your sister, she's not the naïve little girl you think she is. Not even close."

"You don't know shit about my sister. Don't even pretend to."

"It only took me five minutes with Brooke to see that she's nothing like you."

"I hope you enjoyed them because those are the last few minutes you are ever gonna spend with her."

"Oh yea? Why? Because I blew your cover? Because she saw straight through you and was smart enough to use me to get to the truth?"

"Are you trying to set me off? Because if you are, you just keep talking about things that you know nothing about!"

"Ok, I don't know anything about people like you and your family. I don't want to. But I do know about Haley. Your sister used me to get to the truth about your family. The truth that she deserves. And about what you do to people, like Haley."

"That's what this is about, isn't it? It's about Haley."

"Yea. Do you remember the girl whose life you destroyed? Getting away from you was the best thing that ever happened to Haley. Why don't you do your little sister the same favor."

"With no thanks to you, I have been trying to protect my sister."

"Yea. You always have the best of intentions. It's too bad the logic behind them was a little screwed up."

"You made your point." Nathan blew out a breath. This was getting them no where.

"What is this? Is the great Nathan Scott suddenly developing a conscious?"

"What's the matter, Julian? It doesn't fit your profile of me?"

"Look, what was the deal with you and Haley?"

"Suddenly there's something you don't know?" Nathan taunted.

"She didn't tell me much about it, ok."

"Really? Your _best_ friend?"

"She was scared. She didn't want to get her friends involved in this whole nightmare. Does that make sense to you?"

"Well that's over now so you can just mind your own damn business."

"How's your jaw?" Julian asked.

"I'll live."

"Look, I see you grab Brooke and I'm gonna do something about it."

"Yea, you decided to be a hero. Let me give you some advice. Don't be so stupid next time. I might let it slide, but others may not."

"I'll keep it in mind. So what about Brooke? I mean, what's gonna happen? She knows everything now."

"I don't know. Maybe she'll accept it and maybe she'll take off and get as far away from here as she can." Nathan looked at the ground. "Do you ever think about doing that? Just getting in your car and taking off? Driving until you end up nowhere?"

"Yea. I've been there. The only problem is where ever you end up, you're still the same person."

Nathan looked back up at him and sighed. "So what is in this for you?"

"Excuse me?"

"What do you want with Brooke?"

"There's nothing in this for me. She's just somebody I happened to help out."

"Yea, you helped a lot. Mission accomplished." Nathan said sarcastically.

"What are you getting at?"

"You gave her your phone number. She's gonna use it. I know she is."

"Oh ok. I get it. This is the part when you threaten me to stay away from your little sister."

"If she calls you, I want you to do anything she asks. I want you to look out for her."

"What's the catch, Nathan?"

"No catch. Things are gonna get a little crazy around here. She's my sister and I love her. And you don't really want me for an enemy, do you?" Nathan began walking away.

"Where you gonna go?"

"I'm just gonna drive." Nathan answered before walking away.

* * *

Nathan opened the door of the cottage. He didn't know how he ended up here or why. He just got in his car and drove. He hadn't expected the front door to be unlocked, but it was. He stepped inside and shut the door behind him. He looked around the cottage. It was the same as it was the last time he was here.

That seemed like a lifetime ago. When he was still with Haley and they were trying to get Lucas out of their lives. He would be lying to himself if he said he hadn't loved being in that bed with her. She had been so beautiful that night.

"What are you doing here?" Nathan himself asked out loud. Nathan sighed as he continued to look around the cottage and remember that night with Haley.

He suddenly heard a noise coming from outside the door. Nathan turned around and saw the front door open. Haley walked through the door and smiled. She came into the room and shut the door behind her. "Hi."

"What are you doing here?" Nathan asked.

"Actually I never left."

"What do you mean? You didn't go visit your father?"

"No. I just kind of needed some time to think."

"So you've been hold up here this whole time?"

"Pretty much, yea. So that explains why I'm here. But I guess my question would be, why are you?" she asked, taking another step toward him.

"I don't know. I was just out driving and I needed to think."

"Yea I know the feeling."

"I just ended up here. Look, I'm sorry. If I had known you were here...I know this is an important place for you."

"Yea, I guess it is."

"I know that it means a lot to you...and Lucas." He inwardly cringed mentioning Lucas' name.

"Yea, this is a special place. It's kind of why I came here. I wanted to think about me and Lucas and…"

"Look, I'll get out of here so you can think. I hope you figure everything out."

"Nathan-"

"No. I'm serious. I really do want you and Lucas to have a good life together. I didn't mean to intrude on your special place." Nathan headed toward the door.

Haley stepped in front of him to stop him. "Nathan, I don't want you to go. We have to talk about this."

"What? What do you wanna talk about, Haley?" Nathan asked, stepping back from her.

"Please, Nathan."

"Wake up, Haley. This isn't just about you and your feelings. I mean, have you ever stopped to think that ever since we met my life hasn't exactly been a picnic either? I got arrested last night. I got myself arrested. I put my whole family in jeopardy and I got my little sister involved. And now she thinks that we're just a bunch of criminals. And her life is destroyed."

"I'm sorry." Haley said, taking a step toward him.

"No, don't be. I screwed it up. I screwed up my life."

"Nathan, you need to listen to me, ok. You need to let me finish. Because I came here to think about Lucas and I can't because…"

"Why not?"

"Because I can't stop thinking about you. And I have tried. I mean, I really tried and I can't get you out of my mind." Haley took a breath to collect herself. "Can I just be honest with you?"

"Ok." Nathan said quietly. He didn't know what else to say.

"Ok. I came here to, in a way, recapture my past with Lucas and-"

"Good."

"No, listen. Listen to me for a second. Lucas and I were really happy here, you know. And that meant a lot to me. It really meant a lot _then_. But now all I've been able to think about is lying that bed with you that night and lying next to you. And I'm actually having a really hard time remembering Lucas' face, which scares me a lot. And I'm really surprised by the whole thing because it's nothing like I expected at all. I don't know what it is. But I can't keep fighting it, you know. What's happening?"

"I'm sorry. You were here that night, right?"

"Yes."

"Well, it wasn't some big romantic evening. If you remember, I repulsed you and you pushed me away and you cried about Lucas."

"I was upset about Lucas because I didn't want to hurt him. And I still don't wanna hurt him, but you're my husband."

"Come on. It's nothing but a lie. You know that."

"You're gonna tell me that you didn't feel anything when you were lying in _that_ bed next to me? Nothing when I walked down the aisle, when we exchanged vows with each other?" Nathan just shook his head. "Don't do that. Please! Because you know that you did because I felt it. I felt it when you kissed me."

"Look, I don't know what you're doing, but will you stop it?! I mean, we were pretending. We did what we had to do to keep you alive. That's it."

"I can't pretend that well, Nathan. I couldn't pretend that well if I tried. Do you know how much I wish we could just go back and make it as simple as the way that we planned and as easy as that? Something happened, I don't know. I don't know what it was, but something made it real with us. And I know that we deserve to make this marriage work and give it a try. Please, we need to make this work. We owe it to ourselves."

Haley brought her hands up and grabbed the collar of his shirt. "Nathan, I have tried so hard to fight feeling anything for you. I've tried so hard and I don't wanna fight anymore." Haley brought his face close to hers and kissed him. She kissed him with everything she had in her.

Nathan began kissing back and grabbed her waist. When they pulled away, he placed his forehead against hers. "Haley."

"I know we can make this work. I know that we can because you can get away from your family. You are not one of them, Nathan." Nathan suddenly stepped away from her. "What?" Haley began to cry. Why was he making this so hard?

"Don't you get it? I am one of them. I am and you can't change me. And I can't be with you knowing that you want to change me."

"Can't we try?" Haley cried.

"No. Forget it. We don't have a future. It would never work." Nathan said, walking toward the door. "You would never be able to accept me for who I am, Haley. You know that." Nathan opened the door and walked out.

Haley rushed to the door, but she was too late. "Nathan, no!" Haley slammed her hand against the door. She slumped to the ground and began to sob.

* * *

"Mom, come on. You have lied to Brooke her entire life. What did you expect her to do when she learned the truth?" Nathan asked as he followed his mother into her office. Saying that Deb was upset was an understatement.

"Nathan, my daughter hates me. She hates me for doing what I believed was right and now she's out of control."

"Do you blame her? How could you? I don't blame her."

"She's a potential threat to the family now that she's taken up with this Julian Baker. He's the one who turned her against me."

"If he hadn't told her the truth, believe me, she would've gone somewhere else."

"How dare you take his side. How dare you say anything to me." Deb said angrily. "None of this would have happened if you had just kept her in school where she belonged."

"Don't blame me. If you wanna pin this on somebody, look at yourself." Nathan countered. He was tired of her always blaming him for her problems. "You're the one that destroyed this family, mom. You've got no one to blame but yourself."

"Brooke knew nothing about who we are or what we do until you interfered in her life."

"She's not stupid! Did you think you could keep her in the dark her entire life? She's been wondering for years why we kept her away."

"I was trying to protect my daughter."

"Yea, you've always made all the decisions for your children. Well now you have to get used to the consequences and you've got to live with them."

"Enough!"

"No! I was always the smart one so you decided that I was the one that was gonna run the business one day. And Brooke, she had to remain pure and innocent so you shipped her off to school. You exiled her with the same calculation that you used to decide what would happen to me, to Damien, to all of us."

"That was not the way it was." Deb said.

"Really? You decided that Damien wasn't the smart one so you turned him into the family goon. You wouldn't let him be anything but a thug. And what happened? His life was empty, it was violent, it was lonely. Just like his death."

"So now you're blaming me for my own son's death? I didn't kill Damien. Your _bride_ did. And she's gonna destroy you if you don't get her out of your system."

"This has nothing to do with Haley! This has to do with what you've done to this family! " Nathan took a breath. "Did you ever ask us what we wanted? Did you even care? You have run everything. Well, this is your reward for all your hard work. This is your legacy. Congratulations."

Deb didn't say anything back. She simply glared at Nathan as she walked out of her office.

Chase passed by her on the way into Deb's office to talk to Nathan. He poked his head in and saw Nathan standing there. "Is this a bad time?"

"It's always a bad time around here, Chase." Nathan half joked. "What's up?"

Chase walked into the office and sat in the chair across from Deb's desk. Nathan sat in his mothers' chair. "Well, I came to talk to you about your marriage."

"Look, we did talk about it and there's nothing to talk about. It's done. I made up my mind."

"That's what you keep saying. But, Nate it's my job as your friend, your cousin, and your spiritual advisor to stop you from making an ass out of yourself."

"Well, thank you, _Father_, but forget it. Save your breath. I made up my mind. I told you that."

"I think you're making a big mistake, Nate."

"Look, Chase, when you get the annulment papers, why don't you just send them over." Nathan didn't want to talk about this anymore. He just wanted to get this over with.

Chase pulled a manila envelope from his jacket pocket and set them on the desk. "I tried."

Nathan grabbed the envelope and opened it. "Are these the preliminary papers?" Nathan read over them. "Good. We can get this thing rolling."

"Nate, that doesn't mean it's the way to go. You still have time to reconsider. My advice is to tear those up and throw them away. Because if you don't, you're gonna regret this for the rest of your life."


	39. Chapter 38

Haley walked into Tric and spotted Peyton. She had gone to Lucas' house to talk and when he wasn't there she decided to check Tric. Peyton was talking to Ellie at the bar. She noticed that Ellie pointed her out to Peyton and she turned around to face her. "Is Lucas here?" Haley asked.

"No."

"Ok. I guess I might as well wait for him then." Haley walked past her and sat down at a table.

Peyton walked over and sat down across from her. "You haven't seen him since you've been back?"

"No. I never left, actually."

"I thought you were going to see your dad?"

"I never made it to the airport." Haley explained.

"Why not?"

"Because the only reason I was going was because I was running away to sort everything out. And I realized that I was going to be defending myself to my father the entire time so I drove around and sort of ended up at my mom's cottage. And I stayed there for a while torturing myself about Nathan and Lucas."

"Really? Did you come up with anything?"

"Well, Nathan's made it pretty clear that he doesn't want anything to do with me."

"So what does that mean? You came back here to get Lucas, right? Well, it's too late." Peyton said.

"Did something happen between the two of you?" Haley asked.

"I told you that nothing would happen until the two of you decided what you wanted."

"Ok, so that's why I'm here. I need to talk to Lucas."

"I think that's a great idea. I know he needs to talk to you. So what's up with you and Nathan?"

"Well, I told you he doesn't want anything to do with me."

"How do you feel about that?" Peyton asked.

"I don't know."

"Yes you do, Haley. Out with it." Peyton pressed. She was getting tired of talking about Haley's feelings about Nathan and Lucas. She didn't understand why she just make up her mind.

"Look, it doesn't matter how I feel. I suggested that we work on our marriage and he said no. So that's it, case closed, end of story."

"You suggested that you work on the marriage? So you're in love with him?"

"No. I'm just feeling... something for him, but it's not love."

"I'm getting a headache, Haley." Peyton placed her hands on her head.

"Maybe I should have gone to visit my dad because you're certainly not helping."

"Yea, like he'd really appreciate you being married to the mob."

"Why are you giving me a hard time about this, Peyton?"

"Because I am sick of you! I am sick of you bouncing back and forth from Nathan to Lucas, like you can actually do this! He loves me, he loves me not. I love him, I love him not. I just don't know. What happened, Haley? Did you make a move on Nathan? Yes, you did. And what happened? He didn't jump in your lap so you're here feeling sorry for yourself and expecting Lucas to kiss you and make it all better. Well that's not gonna happen. I know what you want. You want to stay married to Nathan, right? So why don't you just go fight for it? Or go sit in the cottage and stop making everyone's life miserable!" Peyton stood up and walked away.

Haley glared at her as she walked away. She let out a breath and decided that she wanted to talk this out with Peyton. She really was one of her best friends and she didn't like fighting with her.

Haley got up and walked over to Peyton. "You wanna tell me why you're so upset with me?"

"I'm not. I'm just…everyone's life is on hold because of you. Do you understand that? Me, Lucas, Nathan, all of our lives are on hold until you sort out your damn feelings. I just want to beat them out of you with a stick or something."

"You know what? None of this has been easy for me, ok. It's not like a walk in the woods here. I mean, what is this? I thought you were my friend...sort of."

"You need to start being honest with people. Starting with Lucas. You need to tell him the truth about where you head really is."

"I don't know where it is because I don't know what I want."

"Well, let's figure it out. Quickly, let's go." Peyton said.

Haley sighed. "I sort of chose Nathan until he said that he wasn't interested in me."

"Are you hearing yourself? You _sort of_ chose Nathan? Can you be any less vague?"

"I told him that I wanted to work on the marriage, ok."

"And?"

"And that's pretty much it." Haley lied.

"What passion, what tenderness. Haley, you know I'm not surprised that he told you to get lost. Because he probably thinks that you're setting him up again."

"I'm not."

"Well, if you want this man, then why don't you fight for him?"

"I have. I fought every way that I know how to and that hasn't worked."

"He's a man. They can't hold out forever." Haley heard the double meaning in her comment.

"That's kind of true. But you know what? I blew it already."

"Maybe not." Peyton said. Haley looked over and saw Nathan walking through the door. "Here's you chance. Don't screw it up." Peyton walked away from her and lightly shoved her forward as Nathan walked toward her.

"Hey." He said.

"Hey."

"So…"

"So, I'm actually really glad you came because I need to talk to you."

"Yea, I need to talk to you too." Nathan responded. "Why don't we go sit."

Haley and Nathan walked to a table and sat down. "Listen, Nathan, I'm really glad that you changed your mind and you're willing to give this marriage a try." Haley said smiling.

"Haley, I didn't change my mind." Nathan pulled the annulment papers out of his jacket pocket. "These are the annulment papers. I want you to sign them. I want you to sign them now."

"Just like that?"

"Haley, you knew this was coming."

Haley scoffed. "After everything I told you last night, after I told you how I feel?"

"That doesn't fix everything."

"I don't expect it to fix anything, but I never said it was gonna be easy for us."

"It should be more than easy. It should be over." Nathan took the papers out of the envelope and set them on the table.

"So this piece of paper is just gonna evaporate our marriage like it never happened?"

"Haley, we never had a marriage to begin with. You know that."

"It became something, Nathan. We have to find out what that is." Haley countered.

"It didn't become anything, Haley. We're too different and our marriage proved that. Will you stop kidding yourself?"

"I don't know why you keep trying to convince me, or yourself that we mean nothing to each other."

Nathan held up a pen. "Just sign the papers."

"Can you look at me and honestly tell me that we mean nothing to each other, that we're not right together? Can you look at me and know that for sure?"

"Haley, I know that my life isn't right for you. I know that being together would only make us both miserable."

"You can't know what's right for me, Nathan. And you can't know what we would be together and neither can I. But what I do know is when I am passionate about something, I don't give up. And I don't want this marriage to end."

"You're unbelievable. _Now_ you don't want it to end?"

"Nathan, I know this sounds ridiculous. I know that I fought this marriage every step of the way. I was so sure that I didn't want to have anything to do with you."

"You should stick with your first impression, Haley."

"I was so busy fighting you that I didn't realize that I was starting to have feelings, ok. I didn't know how to deal with them. But I'm trying to deal with them now because I don't wanna have to look back and wonder what they were."

Nathan ran his hands over his face. "Sign the papers, Haley." Nathan pleaded.

"I know that I hurt you. I know that it's so hard for you to trust me after the things that I've done. And I know that you believe what I'm saying because I know that you feel it. I can see that you feel it. Nathan, do you remember when you told me that we had enough of a connection and an understanding that we could make this crazy marriage work?"

"I was wrong, ok."

"You weren't wrong. You saw a connection before I could, before I would."

"Right. Because you're in love with Lucas."

"Because I _was_ in love with Lucas. Being with you changed that somehow. I don't know. Don't you see that everything has changed with us? That has to say something."

"Yea. It says that I screwed up your life, Haley. And this annulment will be a blessing."

Haley stood up. "This is not what I want! This is not what you want. You're protecting yourself."

"You're being incredibly naïve. You know that?"

"Maybe I am, but you're lying." Haley challenged. "When I kissed you that night at the cottage, you're gonna tell me that you didn't want me to? Go ahead. You tell me that. You tell me that you don't wanna kiss me right now."

Nathan stood up and grabbed her arm. "Take the damn pen and sign this!"

Haley shook her head and picked up the annulment papers. She looked him straight in the eyes as she tore them into pieces. "I won't. I will not sign these! I'm not gonna let you run away from this."

Nathan picked up the pieces that she tore off the floor. "Ok, let's go."

"What?"

Nathan grabbed her arm. "Come on."

"Wait. Where are you taking me?"

"You need to see something." Nathan said, pulling her out the door.

* * *

Nathan led Haley through the park and stopped at a park bench. Haley was really confused. Why the park? "Ok, why did you bring me here?''

"You see this bench?" Nathan said, pointing to it.

"Yes, I see the bench, Nathan. I don't-"

"It looks like a normal bench, right? A bench where mothers bring their kids for a nice day in the park, right?"

"Yea."

Nathan crossed his arms over his chest. "My mother brought me here one day when I was fourteen. She told me the facts of my life and my legacy. I learned everything that day. See, my father never really told me anything before he died because he said I wasn't a man yet and I wouldn't understand. But I became a man right here. My mother told me everything about my family and what we do, the history of every Scott generation, what we did to survive and what we must continue to do to protect the family. She said we must never show our weakness. We must never be vulnerable with our enemies or we lose everything, we're dead. And then she told me that I'm the future of this family and that I must always do whatever it takes to protect the family. Whatever it takes."

Nathan took a breath. "My life changed that day. I learned who I am and what will always be expected of me."

Haley took a step toward him. "Nathan, I'm so sorry."

"What are you sorry about? It's my life. It's who I am." Nathan said, taking a few steps away from her. He couldn't handle her touching him right now. This was hard enough.

"But it's not who you are because I know you."

"You don't know me, Haley. That's my point. There is a code that I live by, that I will always have to live by."

"I can't believe that."

"Well then you're living in a fantasy. Do you think that I can just skip off and live in some suburban fairytale with you? Why would I want to do that? Why?"

"Because I think you would give anything to live in my world." Haley declared.

"I would be bored to death."

"Nathan, you would never be bored if we were together. And I think, given a chance, we could be great together and you do too."

"You are really easy to manipulate, you know that? You only see what _you_ want to see. You're just so accustomed to everyone evolving to suit your needs all out of their great love for you, aren't you?"

"Are you telling me that I _imagined_ you feeling anything for me?"

"I wanted you to believe exactly what I wanted you to believe. That way I could control you. And believe me, you are hard to control."

"You're lying." Haley stated. She was trying to hold back her tears.

"You think so? You like to change people. It took me one minute to see that and I knew how to play you."

"What are you talking about?"

"You think I have a lot of potential, Haley? I have as much potential as I let you think I have. You can't change me. And you know what? I don't wanna change."

"That kiss at the cottage, you felt something. You can't fake that, Nathan."

"No, you can't fake it. You're a beautiful girl, you are. And I'm a guy. It's called lust."

"That is not what it was! That was never what it was!"

"Wake up. We were thrown together, lying in bed every night, side by side, barely clothed. We're human, Haley."

"So that kiss was just a bunch of pent up sexual frustration?" Haley asked, sarcastically.

"It certainly wasn't the romance novel you wrote in your mind. I mean, have you ever thought what it would be like living with me? Have you? Let's say we stay together and you continue to pursue your dream of being a doctor. How long before your friends are saying Nice marriage. She's saves lives, he takes them. Every time I go out of the house you're gonna wonder what I'm up to, only you won't _really_ want to know. And what if we have another argument? You just gonna keep a knife in every room of the house to defend yourself?"

"Nathan, you would never do that to me. I know that you would never do that to me because we would be together, we would have a family."

"And what if one day I brought our son here, to this bench, and I told him what my mother told me? You really want that for your children? You think you can just bring me into your world? I would pull you into mine. And it would destroy you, Haley."

Haley took a deep breath as she tried to hold back the tears that were about to fall. "Ok. I get the message. I had this foolish, romantic idea I suppose, that there was something good in you. That my feelings, whatever I was starting to develop, might actually provide for a way out."

"To what? Save me? You thought you could save me? Get over yourself. I don't wanna be saved."

"That's not what I was trying to do. I just wanted to be fair to us and to our marriage. I didn't wanna quit. That's something that I've never really done."

"Let me tell you something. Sometimes it's better to just get out when you can."

"You're such a coward. But you're right. When you kissed me, I really could have been anybody." Haley wiped the tear that had fallen off her cheek. "So you have a nice life and when you get the papers, you can send them over and I'll sign them." Haley quickly turned and walked away from him.

Nathan closed his eyes. He didn't want to cry. But he had just let the best thing that ever happened to him walk away. He had driven her away. But he had to protect her from him and his life. He loved her too much to suck her into his kind of life.

* * *

Brooke saw her brother sit down at the bar and order a drink. He had been doing that a lot lately. He also looked miserable a lot. Ever since their big blow up, they hadn't really talked and Brooke had gotten a job as a waitress at Tric. She decided it was time for one of them to get over their stubbornness and talk. She walked over and stood in front of him. "Hey." He said, a little surprised to see her. "What are you doing here?"

"Forget about me for a minute. You look like hell, Nathan."

"Thank you." Nathan replied sarcastically.

"No, I mean it. What happened to you?"

"Nothing much. I just had to do the hardest thing I've ever done in my entire life."

"What?"

"It's nothing. What are you doing here?" Nathan asked again since she didn't answer him before.

"Before you try and drag me back home, I want you to listen to me. I know you've always tried to take care of me and you've protected me, but I want to be independent now. I need to do this on my own, ok?"

"That's a big decision, Brooke."

"Well I'm not going back to mom no matter what you say." Brooke declared.

"Good for you." Nathan smiled. "You get as far away as you can, ok. It's not too late for you."

"You really mean that?" Brooke was surprised that he was saying this. She expected him to drag her back home kicking and screaming.

"Of course I do. You're saving yourself and I am really proud of you." Nathan stood up and pulled her into a hug.

"You have no idea how it feels to have you support me on this." Brooke smiled when they pulled away.

"Yea. So you got yourself a job, huh?" Nathan commented, noticing her outfit. It was like all the other waitresses at Tric.

"Well, actually Julian Baker got it for me. But can you believe it? Mom can't touch me now."

* * *

Haley walked up the steps of Peyton's porch, trying to stop crying. She really needed someone to talk to someone about what had just happened. And for some strange reason, even Haley couldn't comprehend, Peyton seemed to make the most sense when she talked about her feelings for Nathan.

She knocked on the door, but no one answered. She looked and saw Peyton's car in the driveway so she knew she was home. Maybe she was in the shower? Haley decided to wait for her inside so she used the spare key hidden in the plant stand. She quickly unlocked the door and then placed the key back where she found it.

As she opened the door she heard Peyton talking to someone. So maybe she was on the phone. "Peyton, I really need to-"

Haley stopped dead in her tracks when she saw Peyton and Lucas on the couch together, Lucas in his boxers and Peyton in his dress shirt. Haley looked down. She looked anywhere other than at the two of them.


	40. Chapter 39

Nathan pulled Brooke to sit down next to him and looked her straight in the eyes. "Brooke, listen to me for a second. I know that you've learned a lot about our family since you've been here, but it doesn't mean that you have to be a part of it. I want you to get out while you can."

"It's no too late for you either, Nathan."

"No, it is. I'm too involved to get out now."

"I know. I've read the newspaper articles."

"Trust me, there's a lot more than what you read in the papers." Nathan said honestly. He didn't want to lie to Brooke anymore.

"So what? So you've done some bad things in the past? You don't have to do them anymore, Nathan."

"You're not listening to me. When you make certain decisions, when you do certain things it becomes impossible to turn back. Do you understand?"

"Why?"

"Because those choices change you. They turn you into someone else."

"You can turn you life around, can't you?"

"I used to think that. But once it has its hooks in you, this life doesn't let you go. That's why it was best for you to be away all those years."

"Now I know and I want to help you get out too. Let me. I don't care what you did in the past. You're my brother and I'll always love you." Brooke declared.

"You know, I'm starting to realize why I brought you home. I think I wanted you to find out the truth."

"Now why would you want that?"

"Because I want you to turn around and run. I want you to be free. I don't want to just be protected or sheltered. I want you to be _really_ free. Damien and I never had that opportunity, you do. I want you to take it. I want you to run like hell and never look back."

Nathan started to get up and grabbed his stuff. "What? You're leaving?" Brooke asked.

"Yea, I gotta be somewhere. Come here." Nathan pulled Brooke into a hug. "Just be glad that you don't have to be somewhere."

"Don't leave, Nathan. Stay and talk to me."

Nathan pulled out of the hug and looked at her. "I want you to do something for me. Don't be here when I come back, ok. You are better than this life. You're better than all of us, Brooke. I love you."

Nathan headed toward the door, but ran into Julian heading in. He was bleeding and had all sorts of bruises and cuts on his face. "Oh my God! Julian!" Brooke yelled, walking over to him. She helped him sit down at one of the tables. "How did this happen?"

Nathan pulled Brooke away from him. "Brooke, go to the kitchen. Get some ice and lots of towels, ok." Brooke nodded and then headed for the kitchen. "Did you get hit in the ribs too?" Nathan asked Julian. "You should really get it checked out."

"Get the hell away from me."

"I'm trying to help you, Julian."

"Look, your sister may buy this whole act, but I don't. What? Is this payback? Is that what it is?"

"I had nothing to do with this."

"No, not you. You were too much of a coward for that, right? You just had to send one of your goons out to do it for you?"

"It wasn't me."

"Come on, Nathan. The guy told me to stay away from Brooke. This has your name written all over it."

"You're wrong. It had nothing to do with me. You wanna know the truth? I would much rather Brooke hang out with you than anyone in my family."

"You really didn't set this thing up?"

"No. But I know who did." Nathan said, heading for the door.

"Wait. Where are you going?"

"Don't tell Brooke about any of this. You understand?"

"Ok."

"And you watch your back from now on." Nathan quickly headed out the door. He knew exactly who was behind this and he was gonna have a little chat with that person.

* * *

_As she opened the door she heard Peyton talking to someone. So maybe she was on the phone. "Peyton, I really need to-"_

_Haley stopped dead in her tracks when she saw Peyton and Lucas on the couch together, Lucas in his boxers and Peyton in his dress shirt. Haley looked down. She looked anywhere other than at the two of them._

"Oh my God." Peyton said as the two of them sat up straighter.

"I'm sorry. I uh…"

"Oh my God. Haley we wanted to tell you." Peyton said.

"No. Don't worry. I don't know why I'm surprised. I should… I really should not be here." Haley quickly turned and walked out of the house, shutting the door behind her.

"Haley, don't go!" Lucas yelled. He got up and found his pants and quickly put them on. He walked out onto the porch and saw Haley still standing there, with her back to him. "Haley, please let me explain."

"Don't. There's nothing to explain, ok. Don't."

"When Peyton told me you were back in town, I wanted to find you. I wanted to tell you everything that's happened."

"Please, Lucas. There's nothing else to say."

"It shouldn't have been like this."

"But it is."

"Haley," Peyton said, coming out onto the porch. "we never wanted you to find out like this."

Haley finally turned around to face them. "It doesn't matter how I found out!" she snapped.

"I wanted to tell you the last time we talked, but…"

"But you couldn't. I understand, alright. I get what's going on here. You've always wanted him and you got him. I guess I should've figured out that people aren't exactly who I think they are."

"Can we have a few minutes alone, please?" Lucas asked, looking at Peyton.

"Sure."

"You know what? You don't have to do this because it's over." Haley said.

"No, listen. We have to talk, Haley. I think we should talk right now." Lucas responded.

"You can use the house, I'll just wait out here." Peyton said.

Haley quickly walked into the house and Lucas followed. He shut the door behind him. "Look, I just came over to talk to Peyton. I didn't know…if I had known, I wouldn't have…" Haley rambled. "I don't even know why I'm in here with you at all." Haley headed for the door, but Lucas stepped in front of her.

"I'm sorry. I am so sorry."

"I don't even know why this bothers me so much. I left you, right?"

"Look, Haley, I did not know this was gonna happen."

"I didn't know it was gonna happen either, but that's because I've been lying to myself this whole time."

"It just happened though."

"It didn't just happen, Lucas."

"It did. I swear it did."

"Lucas, you two have been practically living together. She's wanted you from the moment that she met you and it was only a matter of time before her little games worked. Especially after she sent me off to be with Nathan. Come on."

"Don't blame this on Peyton, ok."

"How am I not supposed to blame this on Peyton? We both know how much she's wanted you and how hard she's tried to get you."

"It's not like she stole me from you. We aren't even together." Lucas defended.

"Ok. So how long exactly did you wait until we were apart? Or was it happening before I left?"

"I can't believe I felt sorry for you walking in here and seeing what you saw. You're the one that left me. You left for days and didn't say anything. You didn't ask any questions and you just left. You thought I'd be here waiting for you or something."

"I was just in love with you."

"Well you've got a funny way of showing it." Lucas said.

Haley closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she opened them, she looked at Lucas. "You're right. I'm so sorry that I've hurt you in more ways than I can count. I guess I'm getting what I deserve now, right?"

"No. It's not like that."

"It is like that, Lucas. I don't even know what I'm doing anymore."

"I know the feeling."

"You know, for so long I was convinced that you and I were meant to be together no matter what happened. And nothing worked out. It's like we kept trying at it and nothing happened. And without you in my life now I feel really alone."

"You shouldn't have to feel alone, Haley."

"But I do. I don't know how I'm supposed to act or how I'm supposed to feel or what I'm supposed to do anymore. The only thing that I know that I have left is that I used to love you. I mean, you obviously don't care about me anymore."

"Haley, I will always care about you."

"You will always care about me, but not the way that you used to. And I did that to myself. I did that."

"Stop. This isn't your fault. I think we would've ended up like this one way or another. I mean, we tried to get back together, but after you were with Nathan everything changed. We tried. It just wasn't there anymore."

"Is it there with her?" Haley asked, tearing up.

"With Peyton?"

"I mean, do you love her? Actually, I don't want to know at all. I'm sorry I asked."

"It's ok."

"Lucas, I really want you to be happy. That's all I want, is for you to be happy. And I know that Peyton really, really loves you. I just hope that you feel something for her."

"I do."

"Ok. Well, hey. At least one of us isn't going to be miserable, right?" Haley joked.

"Come on. You're gonna be fine."

"It's really nice of you to say that. I'm so sorry that I hurt you." Haley said, pulling him into a hug.

Peyton stepped into the house and saw their embrace. She began to tear up.

Lucas pulled out of the hug when he saw Peyton standing there. "I so knew it." Peyton said. "I'm sorry. I don't know why we had…I'm just gonna go into my room and get out of your way." Peyton started toward her bedroom, but Lucas stopped her.

"Peyton, you're wrong, ok." Lucas said.

"I know what I saw."

"You're wrong about what you saw. Haley was just about to leave."

"I was just saying goodbye." Haley said, now crying. "I'm on my way out."

"Your way out?" Peyton asked.

"Yea, I really hope you guys work out and I hope you're happy. I'll leave you two alone." Haley said. She walked past Peyton and out the front door. When she got on the porch, she sat down on the steps and cried for a few minutes.

When she had calmed down, she wiped the tears off her face and stood up. They were over. She and Lucas were finally and officially over.

* * *

"I assume the job was done." Deb said, talking to one of her employees, Frank.

"Yes ma'am."

"Excellent. I don't know what she was thinking taking up with that boy. He was filling her head with ideas, poisoning her against me. I was not about to let him take my baby away from me."

Deb heard her office door slam. She looked up and saw a very angry Nathan walking toward her. "Good job, mom. " Nathan turned and looked at Frank. "Was it you?"

"What are you talking about?" Deb asked.

"Was it you who beat up Julian Baker?" Nathan continued.

"Nathan, stop it." Deb said, trying to grab onto his arm. But Nathan yanked it away from her.

Nathan shoved Frank. "Was it you?! Answer me!" Nathan yelled. He shoved him until Frank hit the wall behind him and Nathan punched him twice. "I am giving you the same warning you gave to Julian Baker. Stay away from Brooke! Stay away from all of them! You hear me?! Don't touch them!" Nathan grabbed Frank's collar and shoved him to the ground.

"I've never seen you like this!" Deb screamed.

"Get used to it! Because I've got a warning for you too, mom." Nathan said. He turned to Frank, who had since stood up. "Get out!"

Frank quickly exited the room, leaving a very angry Nathan with his mother.

"What is this?" Deb questioned, taking a few steps toward him. "You don't talk to me like this."

"You don't control me! I mean it. Don't you mess with me or you will be very sorry." Nathan threatened.

"Are you threatening me?"

"Be proud, mom. I learned it from you! You always said to talk to your enemies in the only language they understand, didn't you?"

"So now I'm your enemy?"

"Leave Brooke alone."

"Nathan, please."

"I will not let you bully her into staying a part of this family."

"She's my daughter! I don't want to lose her!"

"Wake up. You lost her. She is gone. For once just have some dignity and let go. Let go, mom."

"What is happening to you? What have you become?" Deb questioned.

"I've become _you_. Are you satisfied?"

"I would never turn on my family!"

"What are you talking about? You destroyed this family years ago!"

"No! Everything was fine! Haley James has destroyed all of this! Ever since she came into our lives nothing has been the same! Because of her, I have lost one son and I am not about to lose another child!"

"Don't talk to me about loss!" Nathan yelled, getting in his mother's face. "If you ever speak about Haley that way again, I won't be responsible for what I do to you."

Nathan stepped away from her, trying to get a hold on his temper.

"You can't mean what you're saying."

"Try me, mom. Try me!"

"You are not going to take my daughter away from me."

"You are not her keeper! She deserves to be whoever she wants to be. She deserves that chance. I never got that chance; Damien never got that chance. Because you _took it_ away from us! But not with Brooke. I am going to make sure that she gets as far away from you as she can. And maybe she'll find someone to love and she won't ever have to be afraid that you will come along and destroy it! I know that I will never have that. That is my life. But I will be damned if you ever, ever take that away from Brooke."

"When are you going to stop punishing me over Haley?!"

Nathan angrily punched his fist through the wall. "Damn you!" Nathan headed toward the door.

Deb yelled after him as he slammed it shut. "Nathan! Stop this!"

But he was gone.

* * *

Haley opened the front door to Jake's house and stuck her head in. "Hi." She said meekly.

"Hi." Jake said, standing up. Haley walked into the house with two suitcases.

"Oh my gosh! You're back!" Abby said excited. "Come here!" She held her arms open.

Haley set her stuff down on the floor and walked over to them. "Is that ok?"

"Of course!" Abby said, hugging her.

"I'm glad you're back. When did you get back?" Jake asked.

"Just a little while ago, actually." Haley answered, playing along. She knew they meant when did she get back from visiting her dad. She hadn't had the heart to tell them that she never left. That would just start a whole new series of questions she wasn't ready to answer.

"You should have called us. We would have picked you up at the airport." Abby said.

"You know what? I want a hug from my big brother." Haley said.

Jake smiled as they hugged. "It's so good to have you back."

"We missed you." Abby said.

"How's dad doing?" Jake asked when they pulled apart.

"Dad is…dad is dad."

"Trying to save the world?"

"Yea well, you know that without going over to see him."

"Did you get a chance to relax and sort things out?" Abby asked.

"I got a chance to think a lot."

"And did you sort things out?"

"Things kind of sorted themselves out."

"Meaning what?" Jake asked.

"Lucas is with Peyton now." Haley answered.

"What?"

"It's not like I didn't see it coming. Lucas and I talked a lot about trying to get things back to the way they were and so much has happened. You can't really go back."

"What about Nathan?" Abby asked.

"I'm really the furthest thing from Nathan's mind right now."

* * *

Nathan sat at the bar at Tric with a glass of whiskey in front of him. He had to get out of his house before he did something to his mother. How had things gotten so screwed up? First Brooke finds out about the family and then he basically broke Haley's heart. And if he was being honest with himself…his heart too.

Nathan sighed as he thought about their conversation by the park bench.

"_You are really easy to manipulate, you know that? I wanted you to believe exactly what I wanted you to believe."_

"_That kiss at the cottage, you felt something. You can't fake that, Nathan."_

"_No, you can't fake it. You're a beautiful girl, you are. And I'm a guy. It's called lust."_

Brooke placed her hand on his shoulder, knocking him from his thoughts. "Take it easy, Nathan." Brooke had seen him drink about three glasses of whiskey since he had come in.

"What do you think I'm doing? I'm taking it easy."

"I don't know what you're doing. You said you talked to mom."

"Yea and she won't be bothering you. I told you that."

"What did you do?" Brooke asked. She didn't like the way he said that.

"What do you mean what did I do? I acted like a Scott. A couple of threats, a couple of pieces of broken furniture. It was beautiful. I was a real tough guy." Nathan turned to the bar. "Hey, Joe can I get another one?"

"No, Joe. My brother's had enough." Brooke said.

"Don't listen to her. She's my kid sister. Go ahead." Nathan said.

"You got it, Nathan." Joe said, pouring another glass of whiskey.

"Why are you acting like this?" Brooke asked.

"What? What's your problem?" Nathan asked nonchalantly.

A guy came up behind Brooke and tapped her on the shoulder. "We need some appetizers." Brooke turned and looked at him. "What are you laying down on the job? Or is that your job?"

"Stop."

"I've been burning a whole in my pocket. Maybe you'd like to lay down with me." The guy said, grabbing Brooke's waist.

"Stop it." Brooke said forcefully.

Nathan stood up and grabbed the guy's shirt and he turned around. Nathan wasted no time and punched him. The guy fell to the ground and Nathan grabbed his hair, forcing his head up. Nathan continued to punch him.

"Stop it, Nathan!" Brooke yelled.

Nathan finally did stop when a group of guys walked up. "What is this? Is this your rescue team? Come on, guys! Let's go!"

Two of the guys started coming for Nathan and Brooke stepped in front of them. "Stop! Don't you know who this is?! Are you stupid or something? This is Nathan Scott."

The two guys stepped back and helped their friend off the floor. "Sorry. We had no idea." They muttered as they quickly walked away from him.

When they left, Nathan angrily looked at Brooke. "What is the matter with you? I thought you hated being a Scott? Why would you use our name like that?"

"Because I was scared for you. Don't you understand? You're acting crazy!"

"No I'm not."

"If you don't get it together, you're gonna end up dead, Nathan."

"You think I give a damn? Huh? Brooke, I'm already dead."


	41. Chapter 40

Haley, Jake and Abby still sat stood in the talking. Haley had been looking down at the floor and playing with her pinky ring the whole time.

"What about Nathan?" Abby asked.

"I'm really the furthest thing from Nathan's mind right now."

"Meaning?"

"Nathan said it would be really foolish of me to believe that we had a chance."

"Haley, I'm not really understanding this." Jake said.

"He said it was basically a physical thing for him. Not that we did anything like that anyway."

"Haley, what do you want?" Jake asked.

"I want to return to my normal life. That's what I want."

"And that doesn't include Nathan?" Abby asked.

"That includes getting back to my dream of being a doctor."

"That's good, Haley. But that takes a lot of hard work and commitment. You know that."

"And you know something, Jake? Ever since this whole mess, my schoolwork has gone completely out the window as well as everything else in my life. Like my friends and my family. I don't want that to happen again."

"Abby and I both want that."

"I missed you guys so much." Haley said, hugging Abby again.

"We missed you too."

"Is it ok if I stay here for a while?"

"Are you kidding? Of course it is." Abby said.

"Haley, this is your home. Of course you can stay." Jake added.

"Good. What would I do without my big brother?"

"I don't know." Jake said smiling. "Listen, I have to go to work."

"Will you call me on your break?" Abby asked.

"I don't get a break in the ER. You know that."

"Well, call me anyway."

"Alright. I love you." Jake said, giving Abby a quick kiss. Jake grabbed his bag and walked out the door.

Abby looked at Haley for a few seconds, trying to decide how to start this conversation she'd been wanting to have with Haley since the night she came home with them after their double date. "Are you hungry? Can I fix you something to eat?"

"No. I'll fix something later."

"Ok."

Haley looked around the kitchen. "Everything's still the same. It's really nice to be back home. It just feels comfortable to be back home here. It feels safe."

"Well it should. This is where you grew up."

"Yea, I'm all grown up now."

"Yes you're all grown up, but you're skin and bones. I have to fix you something to eat."

"Abby, if I thought food would help me, the entire refrigerator would be empty."

"I don't like seeing you this sad."

"I'm not exactly sad. It's ok. I'm in a safe place, I'm here. It feels wonderful to be home. You have no idea."

"Well, then it was pretty bad there, huh?" Abby asked.

"It was a mess. It was awful. And the whole thing with Nathan was just gonna get worse. But I'm home and it feels like this great big weight has been lifted off my shoulders, which is a really good thing. So I'm ok. You know, I think I had something that I wanted to show you." Haley said, walking over to her bags.

"What is it?"

Haley rummaged through her bag and pulled out a piece of paper. "It's this article that I cut out on a new surgical procedure for the hearing impaired. This case is actually very similar to yours." Haley walked back over and held it out to Abby.

"Well, thank you. That's so sweet that you thought of me, but…"

"Do you not wanna read this?"

"I don't think so."

"Ok. Any particular reason why?"

"Well, people who can hear have a tendency to think that people who can't hear are always looking for a solution or a way to fix it."

"Abby, I wasn't at all."

"I know. I love you, but you should know that I am so happy with my life right now. I am."

"That's really great, Abby."

"Why don't we talk about your life." Abby said. "You've told me that you and Nathan are not together anymore. But I can see that you still have feelings for him, very deep feelings." Haley shrugged. "Why don't you tell me about him. Tell me what he's like."

Haley walked over and sat down on the kitchen table and Abby followed. "Well, he's not a criminal like the rest of his family."

"That's not what I want to know, Haley."

"I know."

"Why don't you tell me why he makes you feel the way he does." Abby suggested.

"I don't know how I feel about him, Abby."

"I think you do. I can see it in your eyes."

"Ok." Haley took a deep breath and thought for a moment. "He's strong and he's gentle and he's really, really passionate about things, about life. He sees life with this incredible intensity and he feels it. When he looks at me it's like he's looking into my soul. I've never felt like that before, ever."

"I can see that in your eyes too."

"And it's so funny. There's another side to him too. I mean, I saw it in the priest's office before we got married."

"Right. There was something that the priest wanted you to write down."

"Yes. He wanted us to write down what we wanted in a marriage. Can I just tell you how similar our answers were and how scary…I mean, we practically wrote the same thing."

"What is it that you want, Haley?"

"I want a husband who is my friend and who is a partner and who is gonna challenge me to be better than I am."

"I like that."

"I like that too. It's completely ironic how we were thrown into this marriage for all the wrong reasons and then a priest showed how incredibly compatible we are."

"And now?"

"What about now?"

"Well, it seems to me that you're more compatible now than you were if he can see into your soul." Abby joked.

"Abby, I don't know if we have a chance anymore. I don't even know if we had one to begin with or if I just created that in my mind. Because from the beginning, I was fighting him and I couldn't see the good parts of him. I was too busy pushing him away and resenting him."

"I'm talking about now, Haley."

"I know, but I just want a piece of the past. I want a piece that I can hold onto, like our wedding night or that night at the cottage when he was so gentle with me. He was so caring and I couldn't respond because I was so anxious or scared or whatever. I don't know why I'm doing this to myself. It's over, it's too late."

"No, Haley. I don't think so. I don't think so at all."

Haley sighed. "I just…"

Abby grabbed Haley's hand. "I am really sorry if you think I crossed a line with you. But I love you and I just want the best for you."

"Of course you do. Abby, you did not cross a line, you could never cross a line."

"I think I might have gone over the edge just a little bit there. But I just think that you're problem is that you want everything resolved immediately, one way or another."

"So how patient am I supposed to be?" Haley asked.

"That depends on how bad you want it. But things have a way of working themselves out in their own time and you have time."

"Do I?"

"Nathan will still be here."

Haley wiped the single tear that had fallen. She hoped to God that was true.

* * *

Brooke set a glass of water down on the table in front of Nathan. Since the fight between him and the group of guys, he had settled down some and Brooke wanted to keep it that way. "Here."

"Come on." Nathan groaned, moving the glass away from him.

Brooke sat down next to him. "Why are you being like that?"

"Like what? That guy was an asshole. He deserved what he got."

"No. I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about mom. Did you do something else?"

"I told you not to worry about it. She's not gonna mess with you or Julian anymore."

"How can you be so sure?" Brooke asked.

"Well, that little ambush on Julian was clearly a message from our mother and since she taught me never to ignore messages, I sent a reply back."

"What did you do, Nathan?"

"Nothing."

"Please tell me. You're really scaring me now."

"It was about time that one of mom's messages got a reply, so…"

"Wha" Brooke asked nervously.

"Look, I sent a message. That's all. And the great Deb Scott saw it all."

"Mom was there?"

"Oh yea. Ring side."

"Nathan, she's gonna be so angry."

"There is nothing she can do that I can't anticipate. I know her; I know all of her tricks. Don't worry about it. If she wants to take me on, good luck to her. She's gonna need it."

"No, you're her son. She loves you."

"She loves you more. But that's ok because she should. You're better than all of us. That's why you have to get out of here, Brooke. You have to go. If you stay here you will never be free from mom. You will never have a real relationship, you will never have a real marriage. The family will always be there lying down with you at night, coming between you. You will never have a chance."

"You're not talking about me, are you? This is about you and Haley. That's why you're acting like this. That's why you're so crazy."

Nathan ignored her comment. "There is only one solution for you. It's for you to get out of town and get the hell away from this family. Listen, I have some money stashed. It's enough for you to start a whole new life. I want you to go up North."

"Why?"

"Because it's a beautiful part of the country and you'll be safe there. You can even leave the country all together. I don't care. You can go to Europe."

"You're not serious."

"I'm dead serious. If you stay here, you will never break free from this family."

"Nathan, I already have." Brooke argued.

"No, you haven't. You think you have, but you haven't. Trust me, I know. Look at me."

"I don't like you talking like this, Nathan. Don't talk like your life is over."

"The point is, your life is not over, Brooke."

"What happened to you? When we were kids you used to tell me everything was possible. You were so full of hopes and dreams."

"It just takes a little dose of reality to flush those out of your system."

"Nothing is behind you, everything is ahead. You still have your whole life to turn it around, to do what you want with it, Nathan."

"Maybe I should go with you, huh? Then we can just get the hell out together."

"That'll mean you've lost and the family still has control of you. And you won't have Haley either."

"I'm gonna get another drink." Nathan began standing up, but Brooke grabbed his arm.

"No. It's your turn to listen to me. If you love Haley, you have to go after her. Don't let mom win. You have to stay and fight for what you want. Haley is what you want."

"You don't know what you're talking about."

"If you run away, mom will take everything away from you."

"I can't listen to one of your sermons without a drink." Nathan stood up and walked to the bar. Brooke took a breath before getting up and walking over and standing behind him.

"I guess you don't care enough, that it doesn't really matter to you, that the guy I looked up to when I was little, practically worshiped just doesn't exist anymore." Brooke said. Nathan turned around and looked at her. "I have to go clear some tables."

Brooke walked away and began clearing off some tables. She didn't notice that Deb and Daunte had walked in and headed over to her. She turned around and saw them standing behind her. "Brooke-"

"You're in my way, mom."

"You can wait on tables, you can play these games, but it's gonna end. You'll come back to me and back home where you belong."

"Is this woman harassing you, Brooke?" Nathan asked, coming up to stand next to his mother. Deb turned and looked at him. "Is there a problem, mom?"

"No, Nathan. Not at all. But I am worried about you." Deb answered.

"You're worried that I might cause problems for you."

"Well, maybe if you listen to your mother-" Daunte began.

"Oh look! It's the new mouth piece earning his retainer." Nathan taunted.

"Is it unreasonable-"

"Spare me the legal jargon, _counselor_."

"I see you have been drinking?" Deb questioned.

"Do you have something to say to me? Say it."

"Nathan, I realize that things have been difficult for you here in Tree Hill."

"Difficult?"

"A lot has happened."

"Get to the point, mom. I've got a date with a Jack and Coke."

"I've been in contact with your Uncle Keith up in Pennsylvania. He could use you in his shop right away and I think you could use a change of scenery as well."

"Don't listen to her, Nathan. Don't do it." Brooke pleaded and pulled Nathan away from Deb. "Nathan, you can't let this happen."

"What do you mean? Uncle Keith?"

"No. I mean mom keeping you under her thumb. Sending you up North is her way of doing that. Don't you see? It's gonna drag you back in. She wants you under her claws. This is the time for you to take a stand. Break free and go after Haley, Nathan."

Nathan leaned in and kissed her on the forehead. He glanced back at his mother and then back at Brooke. "Let's go." Nathan said, leading her back over to Deb. Nathan placed his arm around Brooke's shoulders. "I have considered your offer and…I will go up North to help Uncle Keith."

"I'm so pleased, Nathan." Deb smiled.

"Don't be. On one condition."

"What?"

"I will go if you leave Brooke alone."

"I don't understand-"

"Yes you do. You understand perfectly. Don't mess with me. She is to live where she wants, see who she wants, be who she wants. In other words, she is to be free to live her life. Deal?"

"Alright." Deb finally said.

Nathan stepped close to his Deb. "You better stick to it, mom. Because if you don't, you are going to have a very, very angry son on your hands and you won't like that. You won't like that at all." Nathan threatened.

* * *

A few days later, Julian walked into the restaurant and saw Haley waiting for him at a table. He walked over and she smiled when she saw him. Haley stood up and gave him a hug. "Hi. It's good to see you."

"Long time, no see." Julian said as they sat down at the table.

"I know. My fault about that. Sorry."

"That's ok. So what's up? You haven't gone and gotten married again while I wasn't looking, have you?" Julian joked.

"Haha." Haley deadpanned.

"Ok, bad joke. I'm sorry."

"It's ok."

"I really am sorry. I know what you and Nathan went through was really rough."

"Yea it was." Haley agreed. "But it's over, right? It's time to move on."

"So what did you want to talk to me about?" Julian asked.

"College. I'm coming back."

"That's great."

"Yes, I know. I've just missed so many classes that I'm really gonna need your help getting back on track. So…what happened to your eye, Julian?" Haley asked, noticing the cuts and a bruise on it.

"Oh, playing basketball with some friends. I took an elbow. It's not big deal."

"Are you sure?"

"Yea. But you going back to school is a big deal. That's great. You've been talking about being a doctor since you were a kid."

"I know. And I'm really glad to be getting my life back on track because I lost everything that I cared about when I got involved with Nathan. I'm glad that it's behind me and I'm glad that Nathan and I are finished so that now I can get on with my life."

"So it's over, huh? You and Nathan?" Julian asked.

"Yea." Haley answered with a hint of sadness in her voice. "You know, I had this whole movie thing mapped out in my head where my feelings were gonna save him from the life that Deb had planned for him. And we were meant to be together and we were gonna be together forever and it was gonna be for all the right reasons."

"Sounds like a good movie."

"More like fantasies."

"So what about Lucas?"

"Julian, Lucas is with Peyton now. Did you not know that?"

"No, I didn't. But I always knew there was something going on with those two."

"Yea. You and everyone else who knew them except for…oh yea, me. But it's ok. They seem kind of right for each other."

"You sure you're ok with it?"

"As ok as I can be. They seem kind of natural together, so I hope they're happy."

"So that leaves you and?" Julian asked.

"Nobody. I mean, Lucas is gone and Nathan is gone, my marriage is over. But it's a good thing because now I can concentrate on school and I can concentrate on being a doctor and saving lives, which is what I want to do."

"You're sure that that's all you want?" Julian asked, knowingly.

"Well, you said it yourself. This is what I've wanted since I was kid. This is what I said that I wanted, what I dreamed of. Which brings me to why I wanted to meet with you in the first place. I need to borrow everything from that organic chemistry class that I was never there for. I need your notes, your book, your tests that you saved, anything. I just need to review it all." Haley looked behind Julian and saw on of Deb's men walking toward them. "That's one of Deb's guys. What is he doing here?"

The man walked over to them and Julian slid his chair back. "Relax, kid. I've got orders from the top. I won't be giving you anymore trouble."

The man walked away from them and Haley's eyes went wide, realizing what had happened. "Julian! Is that what happened to you?"

"Let me explain."

"If Nathan had something to do with this-"

"Hales, stop. This had nothing to do with Nathan, ok. This was his mother."

"Why would Deb want to hurt you?"

"Because I told Brooke the truth about the Scott family and I helped her stand up to her mother, which probably wasn't too popular of an idea. Look, Nathan said he was gonna fix things, so I guess that's what he did."

"How did we both get mixed up with these people, Julian?"

"Well, my answer's pretty simple. I happened to run into a pretty girl who needed some help. But I've got a feeling your answer may be a little tougher."

"What's wrong with you? I don't understand you, Julian. Did you not learn anything from the nightmare I just went through with these people? Please, stay away from this girl."

"Yea, that's what her mother said too. You know, you two may have more in common than you think."

"You may think that you can have a normal relationship with her, but I'm telling you, no matter how hard you try or whatever you do, Deb will always be there to screw things up. Julian, this woman is evil. Whatever chance you think you have, it will blow up in your face."

"Like it did with you?"

"I was talking about you."

"Look, Hales. We've been friends forever, right? So I think I know a little bit about you. I think I know what's going on. I'm not involved with Brooke. As far as I know she's just a cute girl that moved into town. Maybe I'll get involved with her, maybe I won't. But you're married to Nathan. And you can talk about being over him and going back to school and whatever else you want to talk about, but you're still married to him. And I think you want to be."

Haley looked down at the table. "Look, why don't you think about that while I run and get that book for you." Julian said, standing up and walking out the door.

* * *

Brooke unlocked her apartment door and she and Nathan walked in. She was carrying two boxes and Nathan was carrying a small bookshelf. Ever since Nathan's ultimatum with his mother, Brooke had found a small apartment to rent far enough away from her mother, but close enough if she ever seriously needed something.

"Thanks for lugging that bookshelf all the way upstairs." Brooke said, setting the boxes down on her coffee table. "I couldn't have done it by myself."

"I still gotta hang this puppy." Nathan set the bookshelf on the ground. "I can't leave town until I know you're settled into your new place and your new life."

"I'm gonna miss you so much when you're gone. I'm gonna be so lonely here without you. I might as well go back to school."

"No. You know this is the only way mom will leave you alone. You deserve a shot at a normal life, a good life."

"Yea, but when I think about what it's costing me-"

"Try to understand. I'm happy that you're free, ok. It means everything to me."

"Mom is still controlling you though." Brooke pointed out. "She's making you do things you don't want to do. Try to understand how unhappy that makes me."

"I want to go. It'll be a good change for me." Nathan declared.

"No. It's because you don't trust yourself to be around Haley."


	42. Chapter 41

Brooke sat on the couch and watched as Nathan began putting her bookshelf up in her living room of the apartment. He hadn't said much since her comment about Haley, but Brooke wanted him to open up about his feeling for Haley. It really ticked her off that he was so stubborn.

"You're still leaving even though you love her." Brooke said again.

"I don't love Haley." Nathan said, looking up from the bookshelf on the floor.

"It's me, Nathan. Forget for a minute who we are and pretend we're a normal family."

"Ok?" Nathan said, wanting this topic to stop as soon as possible.

"Come on. I'm your sister and I love you. That's normal, isn't it?"

"So what?"

"So trust me. I'm probably the only person in the whole world you can trust. You brought me here to help you go through something you couldn't go through yourself. This wasn't part of mom's big plan for your future, but it happened. And there's no going back, Nathan."

"So what do you think I should be doing?"

"Stop pretending you can't have things the way you want. Your dream of a perfect life has Haley in it and you know it. You love her, Nathan. I know you do."

"How can I love someone I don't even know? I hardly know her."

"So then tell me something you do know about her." Brooke pressed.

Nathan stood up and sat down next to Brooke. "I don't know. She's studying to be a doctor and she has some sort of dream to help people."

"That sounds nice."

"No. Our marriage was a disaster. We were constantly fighting and we made each other crazy. She made _me_ crazy. She was completely unpredictable, totally defiant and bossy. She was rude one minute and then vulnerable and caring the next. And now out of the blue she thinks we can have some sort of normal life together, like I can just walk away from the family. It's just some crazy romantic notion of hers. We would never work and I told her that."

"You don't believe that, Nathan. If you want a life with Haley, you can have it if you want it badly enough."

"You sound like Chase."

"Well, he's right."

"No. You're both naïve, naïve romantics. Look, it wasn't meant to be. It was a nightmare from the beginning for both of us."

"Since when did you become such a pessimist?"

"I'm not. I am a realist." Nathan defended.

"If you want Haley, you'll find a way."

"Forget about me, will you? Just forget about me. I just want you to be happy. If you're happy, I'll be happy."

"How can I be happy when you're in so much pain?"

"I am not in pain."

"I just can't believe you're gonna leave without telling Haley how you feel about her."

"There's nothing to tell. She's busy. She's living her life and I can't go there."

A knock at the door interrupted their conversation. Brooke got up to answer the door. She smiled when she saw Julian standing on the other side. "Hey."

"Hey. I came by to see if you maybe needed a hand, but it looks like your brother has you sort of covered." Julian said, walking into the apartment and seeing Nathan there.

"Yea."

Nathan stood up and walked over to Julian. "Julian, about what happened the other day…"

"Look, the guy came back and said it wasn't going to happen again. So I guess I should be thanking you."

"Don't worry about it. I don't think anyone is gonna be bothering you guys from now on. Listen, I want you to keep an eye on her while I'm gone, ok. She thinks she knows everything."

Julian smiled and looked at Brooke. "Yea sure. I would love to."

"And thanks for looking out for her the other day. I think it'll be good for her to have a friend like you around." Nathan continued.

"You're so annoying." Brooke groaned.

"It's part of my job description as your brother." Nathan said putting his arm around her shoulders. "Listen, I'm gonna go take a quick shower to wash some of this dirt off from moving all your crap in here." Nathan joked.

"Ok. Don't use all the hot water." Brooke yelled as Nathan shut the bathroom door. Brooke turned and looked at Julian. "I'm gonna miss him so much when he's gone. I hate that he's leaving. And I know he hates it too."

"Well, to be honest I think it might be good for Nathan to be gone for a little while. I know Haley needs some time to get over him and get on with her life."

"Wait. What are you saying?" Brooke smiled. "Haley still has feelings for my brother?"

"Are you kidding? Look, Haley may pretend that she's over your brother, but she's not. Not even close. In fact, I think the only way she's gonna get him out of her system is if he goes away for a while."

"Really?" Brooke smirked.

"Yea and speaking of going away, I have to go study for test just as soon as I give Haley this book for chemistry. I left her sitting at the diner while I went and got it from my house."

"Well, actually I have to stop by Tric to get my paycheck. So I can give this to Haley." Brooke said, grabbing the book out of Julian's hand.

"Ok. Thanks."

"So you go study and I'll see you later." Brooke said.

"Ok." Julian smiled as he left her apartment.

Brooke smiled and looked at the book. This was perfect. Brooke walked over and grabbed her car keys and her purse and headed out the door to the diner.

* * *

Brooke walked into the diner with the book in her hand. She saw an empty table and put the book underneath a napkin to hide it. She spotted Haley sitting at a table and walked over. "Hey, Haley."

She looked up from the table. "Hey, Brooke. I hear you're moving into an apartment."

"Yea. The thing is I got these shelves that I couldn't put together myself so Julian's doing it for me."

"Oh, so that's where he is. Thank you for telling me, Julian."

"Well, I have to run get my paycheck from Tric and do some errands, but Julian wanted you to stop by and keep him company until he's finished and then he'll give you that book."

"Ok, thanks. Sure beats sitting here alone." Haley said standing up and grabbing her stuff.

"Do you know where it is? I'm room 4D." Brooke asked.

"Yea. Julian and I had a friend, Skills, in high school that used to live in that apartment building."

"Ok. I'll see you later."

"Bye." Haley said walking out of the diner.

Brooke smirked as Haley left. She hoped her plan worked.

* * *

Haley knocked on the front door of Brooke's apartment and heard the power drill going. She tried the knob and saw that it was unlocked. "Hey, Julian-" Haley began, but stopped when she looked up to see Nathan screwing in a bookcase.

"I don't know where you want this stuff, Brooke." Nathan said, his back to Haley. He turned around and saw her standing there. "Hey."

"I came here for Julian. I'm sorry. I just need to get a book." Haley said, walking into the apartment. She looked around, but saw no book. "That is not here either. I don't mean to interrupt. I'm sorry."

"You're not interrupting anything. I'm just helping." Nathan took a deep breath. "Did my sister tell you to come up here?"

"Yea, she said Julian was gonna be working on the…the bookcase, right." Haley said, realizing what had happened.

"She's a bit of a romantic. She has this crazy idea that we belong together."

"Well, there's nothing wrong with being a little romantic."

"No, no. Of course not." Nathan agreed. "As long as there's something to be romantic about."

"Right." Haley said, sarcastically.

"Anyway, you don't have to worry about Brooke playing matchmaker anymore."

"Nathan, don't get upset with her. I mean, it wasn't that big a deal."

"I'm not. I'm not upset with her. I just meant you won't have to worry about running into me anymore."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm leaving town tonight." Nathan said, crossing his arms over his chest.

"You're leaving? Where?" Haley asked, trying to hide the pain in her voice.

"Just up North."

"Is this permanent?"

"Yea."

"Nathan, I really hope you're not leaving because of me. Because if you are, we can work something out. I mean, you just moved your sister into town."

"Haley, I'm not leaving because of you. My uncle has a business up there and he could use some help. I mean, it's a good opportunity for me to step in and manage things. And it's also a great time to get the hell away from my mother."

"Ok, so your uncle owns a business. Is it the same kind of business? I mean, is it…"

"He's a mechanic and he owns a shop." Nathan knew what she was trying to ask.

"Well that's great. I know you've wanted to get out of…you know, be…" Haley stammered.

"Legitimate." Nathan finished. "You can say it. It's not a dirty word."

"Yea, I guess it's not. It's just funny."

"What?"

"Life. Like how you said sometimes you meet the right person at the wrong time."

"Yea. Or in the wrong lifetime."

"Wrong way?"

"Yea."

"I guess you never know who's gonna come into your life and what they're gonna do or how long they're gonna stay." Haley continued. "Right? You know what I mean?"

"Yea. I think I do." Nathan said. He looked down at the ground and then back at Haley. "I want to tell you something. If we hadn't run into each other, I don't think I would have, but I have to. It's important."

"Nathan, whatever you have to say I want to hear it."

"The other day in the park, I said some things that weren't very nice. I was trying to make a point and I went too far. I'm sorry. I didn't want to hurt you."

"It's ok. I've said some things that I didn't mean too."

"I know. If circumstances had been different…"

"Yea. Right person, wrong time. Wrong person, right time. It's backwards, but this is good. We're moving on and you've got this new life ahead of you and I've got school that I'm gonna go back to."

"I think you're gonna be a great doctor." Nathan said honestly.

"Thank you. I'm really looking forward to going back to school."

"And it will be nice for you to get back to your family and all your friends."

"Yea. It'll be nice. And you, this job opportunity is great. It's a chance for you to get away from your mother, which is something I know you wanted for a very long time." Haley took a breath. "Listen, I want to give you something, but it's in the car. Will you wait for me, please?"

Nathan nodded and Haley walked out of the apartment to her car. Nathan sat down on the sofa and pinched the bridge of his nose. He took a deep breath and thought about the first time he told Haley how he felt. He didn't come right out and say he was falling in love with her, but he was.

"_You know, you take a shower and you comb your hair, you rub lotion into your arms and your shoulders, and you slip into a nightgown. And I'm sitting in bed pretending to read or listen to music or whatever, but that's not what I'm doing. I'm watching you. I'm trying not to, but I am. I do. I am a man. And when you climb into bed with me, beside me never touching, I lay there awake, staring into the dark aware of everything that you're doing, of how you breathe, every rustle of the sheets. And it takes every ounce of my being to not want to reach out to you."_

Haley opened the door and knocked Nathan from his thoughts. He stood up when she walked over to him. "What's up?" He asked.

Haley held up her wedding ring. "I didn't really think I should keep this." Haley held it out to him, but he just stared at it.

"No. You should." Haley sighed and Nathan knew she wanted him to take it, so he did. "Thanks. Look, I'm sorry that things couldn't be different."

"Me too." Haley didn't know what else to say. "Goodbye, Nathan."

"Ok. Take care of yourself." He said as she headed for the door and walked out.

Haley shut the door behind her and leaned against it, trying to keep herself from bursting into tears.

* * *

Haley walked into her house and saw Jake sitting on the couch reading the paper. "Hey. Where you been?" he asked, looking up from the paper.

"Why? Am I grounded or something?" Haley joked.

"No. You just missed an all expense paid trip to the mall. That's it. I had some free time."

"Sorry. I talked to Julian about borrowing a book from him. Organic chemistry."

"You're reading books? Really?" Jake asked.

"Yea, I'm reading books. So I called the school and I talked to them about summer classes and they said I can take up to like nine credits."

"Nine credits? That's a lot for summer school."

"I know, but I figure if I want to be a doctor I have to get used to working under pressure. So I figured it would be really good for me. I could delve into my work, do studying, do volunteering at the clinic and the labs-"

"And doing everything humanly possible to forget Nathan."

"No, actually that's not gonna be too hard. Everything that I think I might have had with him just went out the window when he told me he was leaving."

"He's leaving?"

"He's going up North to be with his uncle."

"You're serious?"

"Yea, I'm serious. It's over and I'm never gonna see him again."

Jake stood up and walked over to her. "Haley, all I have to say is thank God." He pulled her into a hug. "Maybe now I can go to sleep at and not worry about waking up in the morning and finding you in some…"

Haley pulled back from him. "What?"

"Finding you in some morgue."

"Jake, my life was never in danger. Nathan has this control over his mother. He knew how to handle her."

"That's why you're still alive?"

"Yea, it is why I'm still alive. It's not like it matters anymore. I'm relieved and I'm glad Nathan's leaving. It's gonna make us both a lot happier."

"You know, it's funny. You don't seem very happy to me."

Haley sat down on the couch and Jake sat down next to her. "Well not at the moment, no. I'm not. But we talked about it and we both decided that it's the best thing for us. I can go back to school and Nathan can go back to…"

"Crime?"

"Yea, fine. There was some of that. But so what? Maybe I was brain washed. Maybe any feelings I was having for him weren't even real at all."

"Haley, it's obvious that you felt something for him."

"I don't know what you want me to say, Jake."

"All I'm saying is that you don't have to try so hard to convince yourself that you're ok when you're not ok."

"You think I wanna spend the rest of my life rationalizing the fact that my husband is involved in organized crime? I don't think so. That's gonna go over really well at the PTA meetings."

"Look, I'm happy that this relationship is over, but you don't have to pretend you're ok when you're still hurting."

"Well you don't have to pretend like you know what I'm going through because you don't. Jake, you have no idea, ok." Haley countered.

"You must think that I've lived this sheltered life my whole life. I haven't."

"I'm just saying that you're not out there like I am. You found your soul mate already."

"Yes I did find my soul mate and Abby is the best thing that's ever happened to me, but she's not the first person I fell in love with. I've been disappointed, I've been hurt, I'm the poster boy for the most dumped guy in Tree Hill. I got over it and you will too. Look, you've made a commitment to go to med school. That's huge and I'm so proud of you."

"You're proud of me? Really?"

"You bet I am. And I haven't said this lately, but I believe in you. You're gonna put this behind you and you're gonna move on. And when you least expect it, the right guy is gonna walk through that door."

"Yea, maybe."

"No. No maybe. All this pain you're feeling is gonna serve you later because you're gonna recognize the right guy when he walks through that door."

"Alright. You're right. You sound right and I know you know what you're talking about. I know what I want and it's not Nathan Scott." Haley said the last part to try and convince herself. Even though it was the farthest thing from the truth.

* * *

Nathan solemnly walked into his mother's office with the last of his two bags he was taking to Keith's. Deb smiled when he walked in. "There you are. You ready to go?"

"I got what I need for now. I'll send for the rest later."

"I called Keith to tell him you were coming and he was very happy."

"I'm sure, with all the employees he already has. I bet this is his lucky day." Nathan said, sarcastically.

"He's always favored you. You know that, Nathan."

"Yea, I'm sure he can't wait to start molding me into his image."

"I've told them that you've become your own man, that you're strong and intelligent."

"Translation being, stubborn and dangerous."

"I'm going to miss you. I think this trip will be very good for you. It's exactly what you need."

"You think so?"

"Yes. It will give you a whole new perspective on things. I believe it's the right thing for everyone involved. You, Brooke, and even Haley."

"I told you to leave her the hell out of this." Nathan warned.

"Do you think this is easy for me sending you off like this? My heart is…"

"What?" Nathan smirked, seeing right through her. "You can't even say the words, can you? It might make you appear human. God help Deb Scott if she appears human. Right?"

"God help me is right. You have no idea what it has taken to keep this family together. You have no idea what my life has been like since your father passed away."

"Murdered, mom. Dad was murdered. That's the price of being a part of this family."

"Yes, he was murdered. And as he lay dying in my arms I made him a solemn promise that I would be both mother and father to you children and that I would see to it that you became the man he wanted you to be."

"You think I've become that man?"

"Yes."

"I'm not so sure."

"Your father was powerful and strong man, a man who spoke his mind."

"You mean he stood up to you, right? That's what you mean. What if I decide not to go up North?"

"It's too late."

"What if_ I_ decided that what's best for the family, what's best for me is to stay right here?"

"This is a wonderful opportunity-"

"What if I said, I'm not going and I'm staying right here, mom?"

"You would disappoint your uncle and you would disappoint your family. You yourself said it was the right thing to do. So that you could protect your sister from me."

"Yea. Your end of the bargain."

"Yes, I agreed. What is it? Have you changed your mind?" Deb asked.

"No. There's nothing for me here anymore."

"There's everything for you here. Nathan, this is your home, this is where your family is, your sister, and this is where I am."

"I'm sorry, who? You?"

"Yes. I am still your mother and I love you. Nothing is going to change that despite everything that has happened who I have become. In the end, I am your mother first."

Nathan laughed. "First after what?"

"Don't you understand what I would do to protect you? Even if it means protecting you from yourself. You think its' so easy for me to say goodbye to you like this. I'm doing this for you, Nathan because you are the future of this family."

"No. Not anymore I'm not."

"Nathan, please."

"What?"

"I understand your anger towards me, but please try to understand me. You're my only son. You're all that I have left."

"No, I'm not. Not anymore. You lost me. Whether I stay or go, you've lost me." Nathan walked over and picked up his bags off the floor and headed for the front door.

"Nathan, wait."

Nathan stopped and looked at his mother. "I am my father's son and nobody else's. I am dead to you."

When Nathan left her office, Deb picked up a book and threw it across the room. "No!" Deb sat down in her chair and began to sob.


	43. Chapter 42

Nathan was on his way to the airport when he decided he needed to remind his mother of one little thing before he left town for good. He quickly dialed the house and waited for his mother to answer. "_Hello?_" he heard.

"It's me." Nathan said. "I've got one more thing to discuss."

"_What is it, Nathan?_"

"Just because Haley and I aren't together anymore, don't forget that I have whatever it takes to bring you down if anything happens to Haley."

"_You've made that very clear_."

"Good. So her continued good health should remain a high priority, you understand?"

"_If I ever see that girl again, it would be too soon. I understand. Call me when you get to Keith's_."

He was about to hang up the phone, but realized she had begun talking to, who he assumed was, Bear. "_I was right. Sending Nathan away is not going to be enough. As long as Haley James is still alive she's a threat to this family. In order to protect my son, I have to get rid of the problem_."

"_This is your final decision_?" he heard Bear ask.

"_Yes_."

"_There is one thing that concerns me_."

"_What is it_?" Deb asked, slightly annoyed.

"_It's your son and his reaction_."

"_My son has said to me that he is not my son anymore so I don't care about his reaction. I just want to make sure that this little endeavor is tastefully done._"

"_It will be tasteful, Mrs. Scott. Tasteful, discrete, and permanent_."

"_We're going to finish this now."_

Nathan hung up the phone and threw it into the passenger seat. "Like hell you are." Nathan quickly did a u-turn and sped up toward his house.

* * *

Jake had gone back to work and Abby was out with friends for the night so Haley decided to watch a movie. She picked the _Wizard of Oz_. It was always a favorite of hers. She had just gotten to the part when Dorothy meets the tin man when the phone rang.

Haley paused the movie and got up to answer the phone. "Hello? James residence."

"_Hello, Haley. It's Deb Scott_."

"Yes? What…?"

"_Have I caught you at a bad time_?"

"For what?"

"_Well, if you're having dinner with your family I can always call back_."

"No, I'm alone. What is it that you want?" Haley asked, slightly annoyed. She didn't want to talk to Deb Scott ever.

"_It isn't what I want, Haley. It never is. It's Nathan again_."

"What about Nathan?"

"_He asked me to call you on his behalf. He wants you to come meet him here at the house_."

"Why?"

"_I don't know why. He said he needed to see you_."

"Ok, so why didn't he call me himself?"

"_Look, Haley, I don't have time for this. Nathan called me from his cell phone, he asked me to get in touch with you. I was about to say no and the line started to break up. I tried to reach him, but I couldn't. So I have no idea what he wanted to ask you and frankly I don't care_."

"Alright. Why don't you tell him I'm on my way." Haley smiled.

Haley smiled as hung up the phone and quickly shut off the movie. She grabbed her coat and wrote a quick note to Jake telling him where she was. Then she hurried out the door.

* * *

Nathan heard the phone ring for the fourth time and go to voicemail. He had been trying to reach Haley for the past 5 minutes. "Damn it, Haley! Where the hell are you?!" He shouted, throwing his phone back onto the passenger seat.

How could he have been so stupid? He knew his mother wasn't going to let this go. "I promised nothing would happen to you. Come on. Fifteen minutes and I'm there." Nathan muttered.

The road turned into a curve and he sped up even more. Nathan suddenly lost control of the car and began driving in the opposite lane. A truck's headlights came into view and the truck honked. Nathan swerved to get out of the way, but he turned too much and drove straight into the ditch.

He slowly opened his eyes and felt a splitting headache. He felt something running down his forehead and reached up to wipe it off.

Blood.

Nathan reached over and found his phone. He dialed the 911. "Yea, this is Nathan Scott. Send help…"

Nathan's eyes slowly shut and he dropped the phone, before passing out again.

* * *

Haley followed Bear into Deb office and saw her sitting at her desk smiling. "Hello, Haley."

Something wasn't right. She didn't see any sign of Nathan. "Alright, you said Nathan needed to see me."

"Yes I did."

"Ok. So where is he?"

"I have no idea." Deb smiled.

"Alright. I really don't know what's going on here. But you said, Nathan called from the road so when would you expect him?"

"I don't."

"You don't?"

"It's just you and me, Haley. Judgment day at last."

"Ok, I don't know what's going on or what you're talking about, but I know that we're finished."

"Not quite. We're not finished yet." Deb said, standing up from her desk and walking around it to stand in front of Haley. "I still have a couple things to say to you before this is all over. I wonder if you know what you have done, Haley. Not only did you take Damien away from me, but Nathan too. Even Brooke has suffered because of you. Every bad thing that has happened to this family can be traced back to the day you entered our lives."

"I can't believe you're blaming me for your mistakes as a mother. I never asked to be dragged through this family."

"It saved your miserable, little life."

"You are responsible for your children deserting you, not me. You are. And you know what the funny thing is? You're not even upset about the fact that they left. You're upset that you lost control over them. And you're also upset about the fact that you don't have control over me and you never did. And Nathan saw to that."

"You corrupted my son."

"I corrupted him? Me? What do you call what you did to him?"

"I turned him into a man. A brilliant, dynamic man who is going to take over the family business after me and lead it into greatness. And then you came along-"

"The Scott family is despised by every normal person in Tree Hill."

"You're wrong. We're feared and respected."

"Fear is not respect. You are loathed and that is why Nathan left. But you're right. He is a dynamic man and he is decent. God knows where he got that from."

"That's enough."

"Nathan left because he couldn't stand what you turned him into."

"Once you're out of the way, he'll come back to me." Deb assured her.

"No he won't. Because he knows what you've done. He knows how you've manipulated him since he was fourteen years old. You brought him into an environment that nobody, especially a child, should be exposed to. Thanks to you he didn't even have a chance."

"I'm gonna make you suffer for what you did, Haley. I'm gonna see to that."

"Why don't you stop pretending this is about me hurting your family. This is about Nathan. And the fact that I have feelings for him and he has feelings for me and you can't handle that."

"Well, we'll never know will we?"

"Know what?"

"How Nathan felt because he's far away. He can't help you now, Haley. In fact, no one can help you now." Deb walked over to her desk and picked up a letter opener. She began to fiddle with it. "You know nothing about my life, Haley."

"I know too much."

"You're an outsider."

"Lucky me, right? I suppose you should be thanking God for the day I came into your life because before I did you had nobody to blame your problems on."

"We are together. Unlike the James family, who doesn't give a damn about their own."

"What are you talking about?"

"Where's your father, Haley? Where has he run off to now?"

"He hasn't run off."

"Last time it was Africa. Now this time it's Europe."

"Yes, Europe. He's helping people. That's probably something you don't know too much about."

"Oh yea, he's helping people because he's abandoning his children. Something no good parent would ever do."

"Go to hell, Deb."

"After you, sweetheart. Long, long after you. Because the truth is, you are all alone now. There's no one here to help you and my son has finally realized how you took advantage of him."

"You know, it's really funny how little you know about everything."

"I'm getting really bored with this conversation. So I'm going to say good riddance. You're about to leave my life permanently and I won't have to look at your face anymore."

"Well good. That's what I want. I'm not going to let you intimidate me anymore. I'm finished with that. I'm finished playing your little games. I have my life back and I fully intend to keep it."

A police officer burst through the doors of Deb's office. "I'm officer David Grant."

"I don't care who you are. You're trespassing. Get out." Deb said.

"Mrs. Scott, I didn't come here to make trouble. I came here to report an accident."

"Oh my God, it's Nathan." She guessed.

"Yea, a woman spotted his car on the side of the road and called 911. A police officer radioed it into the precinct and I took the call."

"He's not dead?" Haley asked.

"No."

"How bad is it?" Deb asked.

"All I know is that he's a Tree Hill hospital right now."

"You must know something else." Deb demanded.

"The police officer who radioed it in said he was unconscious when they got there."

"Oh God." Haley said, quickly walking toward the front door.

"Where are you going?" Deb asked.

"Where do you think I'm going, Deb?!" Haley answered, opening the door and rushing to her car.

* * *

Haley and Deb walked into the hospital. Haley had beaten her there, but Deb had Bear drop her off at the front doors, so they walked in at the same time. Haley spotted Lillian, one of the nurses. "Lillian, where is he?"

"How is my son?" Deb asked.

"It's too early to tell. But he was in a very serious accident." Lillian replied.

"He's gonna make though, right?" Haley asked.

"Of course he is." Deb responded. "My son is to have the best care, the best doctors."

"He certainly has that, Mrs. Scott."

"Who is the attending physician?" Deb asked.

"Dr. James."

"Is he with him right now?" Haley asked.

"What injuries has my son suffered?"

"It's too early to tell, but as soon as we find out, Dr. James will be out here to talk to you."

"Please. You must know something else." Deb pushed.

"I don't know anything. So why don't you sit down and have a cup of coffee and-"

"I really don't need to be having suggestions from you." Deb sneered. "Nurse, you must know something-"

"Deb, would you back off and let them work, please?" Haley finally said.

"Back off? Who are you to tell me what to do about my son? You're the reason he's in here in the first place. Haven't you done enough?"

Jake walked over to them. "Jake?" Haley questioned.

"We've got him stabilized, but we won't know anything until-"

"Until what?" Deb interrupted.

"Can I see him please?" Haley asked, ignoring Deb's question.

"Of course. Come on." Jake said, placing his hand on her lower back and leading her into the room. Deb followed.

When they walked into the room, Nathan was lying on the table with a bandage on his forehead and slight bruise on his face. The blood was starting to come through the bandage. "Nathan…" Deb muttered.

"He's unconscious." Jake informed them.

"That's only temporary, right?" Haley asked, walking over to the bed.

"I have no idea, Haley."

"You don't know what's wrong with my son?"

"When we get the X-Rays back, Mrs. Scott, we'll be able to pinpoint the problem."

"Does he need surgery or anything like that?" Haley asked.

"We're going to be moving him to take a CAT scan very soon."

"If my son needs surgery, I want to have specialist brought in."

Jake placed his hand on Haley's shoulder. "Haley, he's lost a good amount of blood."

"I have names in New York." Deb continued.

Lillian walked into the room. "Dr. James, I have the consent form right here. I just need someone to sign it."

Haley grabbed the clipboard from her. "I'll take it."

"You have no right!" Deb shouted.

"I have every right. I'm his wife and I'm his next of kin. I'll sign it. I think you should leave. I'd like to spend some time alone with my husband." Haley said, signing the form.

Deb glared at her. "You're more stupid than I thought if you think I'm going to leave my son now."

"Why don't you step out into the waiting room, Mrs. Scott." Lillian said, pulling on her arm.

Deb yanked it out of her grasp. "Take your hands off me! I am not going to leave my son here alone with her."

"It's not going to help your son by having you hauled off by security, Mrs. Scott." Jake said.

"What kind of ridiculous doctor are you to allow a mother access to her own child?"

"Believe me, you're going to get a chance to see your son. In the mean time, I want you out of this room right now."

Lillian grabbed Deb's arm again and pulled her out of the room. Haley held Nathan's hand and wove her fingers through his. "He's so cold." Nathan's eyes slowly started to open. "Nathan?"

"What is it, Haley?" Jake asked.

"He's coming to." She looked at Nathan and smiled. "Hi."

"Haley?" he mumbled.

"I'm right here." Nathan closed his eyes again. "Jake."

"What?"

"He's closed his eyes again."

"Ok. We're gonna get him a CAT scan." Jake grabbed Haley and pulled her into a hug. "It's gonna be ok, Hales."

* * *

Jake wheeled Nathan back into the examination room. Haley had gone with him to get Nathan's CAT scan and now Deb was following them. "Is there no hospital communication? Where have you been? I came in to see my son and he was gone. All of you were gone."

"Mrs. Scott, please. We took your son down for a CAT scan." Jake said.

"And how is he? What did you find out?"

"There was no bleeding in the brain. He's going to recover."

Deb sighed in relief. "Thank God."

"Mrs. Scott, your son has a very serious head injury. He was unresponsive when he was brought in. He's stable now, but we're going to have to watch him very carefully for the next twenty-four hours."

"And what? Just watch him? That's all that you can do, Jake?" Haley asked.

"Haley, he was in a very bad accident. He's lucky to be alive."

"I'd like a moment alone with my son."

"No." Haley said.

"I'm not asking you."

"I'm his wife and I have to do what's best for him. I don't want you saying something that's going to upset him."

"He's unconscious, Haley. How could I possibly upset him?"

"Mrs. Scott, we have the test results that we need to go over." Jake said, hoping to stop the argument.

"Is there something that I need to know?" Deb asked.

"There are several things you have to know." Jake led Deb out of the room, leaving Haley alone with Nathan.

Haley looked at him and lightly ran her fingers through the front part of his hair. "How could I have been so stupid? Why didn't I just tell you how I felt when I had the chance? Nathan, please come back to me."

Jake quietly walked back into the room and stood next to Haley. "Go get some rest. Please."

Haley looked at Jake for a moment and gave in. "Ok."

"Thank you."

Haley reluctantly walked out of the room, but Deb was waiting right outside the door. "He's resting."

"You have no right."

"I have every right, Deb. I'm his wife."

"You're not his wife. You just married him to save yourself."

"Yea, from you and that's exactly what he needs right now. To be saved from you."

"Oh please. Don't pretend to care about him."

"I do care about him and I want you to leave him alone."

"I don't take orders from you." Deb started for the room, but Haley stepped in front of her.

"Deb, don't go in there or I'll tell the police exactly what you tried to do to me tonight."

"Am I interrupting anything here?"

Deb turned and saw the officer that had come to her house to tell them about Nathan walking toward them. "No. What can I do for you, officer?"

"Well, I'd like to find out exactly what was going on when I arrived at the house earlier tonight between you and Miss James."

"That can be explained."

"Good because I'd like to hear all about it. But first, I need to check in with Officer Emerson."

"Who?" Haley asked.

Officer Grant pointed to the man standing near them. "He's the officer who radioed in the accident. Excuse me." Officer Grant walked away from Haley and Deb and started talking to the other officer.

"Wow. I really could just tell them everything right now, couldn't I?" Haley taunted. "Maybe I'll just wait until Nathan wakes up and he can do it himself."

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Somehow, Nathan knew what was going on and he was coming back to save me. That's how he got in crash in the first place."

"I didn't threaten you, Haley. We were just having a talk. You were the one that came over to my house."

"You set me up, Deb."

"Nonsense. You're just some silly, melancholy girl who likes to make up stories to get attention."

"Well, we'll see who's making up stories when Nathan wakes up, won't we?"

"You're out of your mind."

"And you're about to be exposed for exactly who and what you are. Believe me, it will be my pleasure to watch you go down."

Jake cleared his throat. "Haley, he's coming around."

"Did he ask for me?"

"He hasn't said anything yet."

Jake walked over to the nurse's station and Haley looked back at Deb. "He will."


	44. Chapter 43

**Here's another update for you :) I know you're all anxiously waiting for Nathan and Haley to make up and get back together. Believe me, it will happen. But until then, enjoy this update **

* * *

Haley was back inside Nathan's room and Deb was on the phone with Bear. Haley was beside the bed holding Nathan's hand. "Can you hear me?"

"Haley, take it nice and slow. Don't force anything." Jake said, standing next to her.

"How's he doing?" Deb asked, walking over to them.

"He's still semi conscious."

Deb scooted herself next to Nathan, pushing Haley out of the way. But Haley moved, knowing she was concerned for him. "Nathan? It's mom. Look at him. He looks like a little boy right now."

"I guess you do love him, Deb. In your way." Haley said.

"I love him more than my own life."

"No. Not more than your life."

Officer Grant walked into the room. "Dr. James, how is he?"

"He's coming around."

"Alright. I'm gonna need to get a statement from him."

"That's impossible right now."

Deb walked over to the officer. "Can't this wait?"

"I'm afraid it can't."

Haley noticed Nathan begin to move and try to open his eyes. She was quickly by his side again. "Hi." She smiled.

"Haley?" he asked groggily.

"Hi. Yea, it's me. I never thought I'd be so happy to hear someone say my name."

"There's too many people in this room." Deb suddenly exclaimed.

Haley started softly rubbing his cheek with the back of her hand. "How you doing?"

"What's going on? Where am I? What am I doing here?" Nathan asked.

"You don't remember?" Haley asked.

"No. I was leaving town."

"Mmmhmm." Haley agreed.

"What happened?"

"Nathan, you were in a car accident. You don't remember?"

"No."

"Well, think. You have to remember. You were driving and what? Think, please."

"I was going to the airport."

"Then what?" Haley pressed.

"I don't know. I can't remember."

Deb discreetly let out a relieved breath.

"Alright, I need you to think really hard. You were driving and you got into a car crash. What happened?"

"Haley-" Jake began.

"You were going up North to work with your Uncle Keith."

"Haley, come on." Jake slowly led Haley out of the room.

"No, Jake. He has to remember."

Jake got into the hallway and let go of Haley. "Hales, I know you're scared, but you can't pressure him like this."

"That woman is gonna fill his head with lies and I know that he was coming back for me."

"How do you know that?"

"Because I feel it in my heart."

"Why?"

"It's the only thing that makes sense, Jake."

"Haley, he's gotta remember at his own pace. You can't force him to something that he's not ready for."

* * *

Deb stood next to Nathan's bed and talked with Officer Grant. "Your son's memory of what happened seems to be vague at the moment." Officer Grant said.

"He's coming around."

"Maybe you have some idea of why he was speeding."

"He was obviously going too fast."

"Obviously. Do you have any idea why?"

"He's young. You know how young people get."

"And there's no other reason you can explain why Nathan was speeding?"

"If there were, don't you think Nathan would have remembered it?"

Haley walked into the room and a stopped at the door and listened to them finish their conversation.

"Yea. I've got to take a call. If he should say anything else, you let me know."

"Don't worry, officer. I want to get to the bottom of this just as much as you do."

When Officer Grant walked out of the room, Haley over to Deb. "Wait a minute. Get to the bottom of this? The bottom of this is that you wanted me dead, Deb. I know Nathan's going to remember that."

"My son was leaving town to get away from you."

"Then why did he turn around and drive home at 100 miles an hour? It was to save me."

"I'll tell you exactly what happened, Haley. Nathan found out that I was in danger. That's why he was speeding."

"What? He called the police and he told them to send help."

"He didn't say to send help because of you, Haley. He just said to send help. So don't flatter yourself. My son came back because he was worried about me."

"Whatever." Haley muttered.

"I'm gonna offer you a deal, Haley. And you better listen carefully because this is a real bargain."

"And why should I believe anything you say?"

"If you leave Nathan alone, forever, just walk out, our vendetta is over. No harm will come to your family or yourself. I swear to it on my son's life."

"You swear?"

"It's a pretty good deal, Haley. Considering the alternative. What's your answer?"

"Nathan needs me. That's my answer." Haley said and then she walked over to stand next to Nathan again.

* * *

Nathan had been moved from the ER to a more permanent room. Haley quickly walked down the hall and entered his room.

Nathan was still semi-unconscious. Jake said it was because of the concussion he had received during the crash. He would drift in and out of sleep all day, so Jake wanted to keep him in the hospital until he was more stable. Haley quietly walked over to him and sat down on the bed next to him.

Haley sighed as she looked at him. "I wish I could tell you how I feel. I wish I could tell you how much I want you in my life and I can't. You're sitting right in front of me and I can't tell you. Nathan, I know in my heart that you were coming back for me. And I know that you wanted to save me from your mother. But Jake says that you have to remember on your own so I'm just gonna wait. I'm just gonna wait for you and I'm gonna wait to tell you all the things I need to say to you."

Nathan slowly opened his eyes. "Hi."

"Hi." Haley smiled.

"Haley?"

"Yea it's me. It's Haley."

"What are you doing here?"

"I was assigned to you. It's something for pre-med. It's a school project. We're monitoring the different conditions of the patients we've been assigned. So that's what I'm doing. I'm monitoring your progress."

"Why would they want to stick you with me?"

"What do you mean?"

"Come on. I know you don't want to have anything to do with me." Nathan groaned. "My head is killing me. I can't think."

"Alright don't. Don't think too hard. Jake says that you're gonna be fine. You're just suffering from a concussion. You're gonna be ok."

"Ok." Nathan mumbled before closing his eyes.

"I'm gonna be right here when you remember everything." Haley stood up and grabbed a chair. She sat down next to the bed, leaning her arms on the bed and rested her head on her arms. "It's my fault. It's because of me this happened to you. I'm sorry. I know you're just trying to protect me. But I'm gonna keep you away from your mother. It's my turn to take care of you now. So that's what I'm gonna do."

"For someone who claims they don't want to have anything to do with my brother, you're taking really good care of him." Brooke's said coming in the room.

Haley lifted her head and sat back in the chair. "Well, it's just a school assignment. I'm monitoring his progress for pre-med."

Brooke chuckled. "So you're saying you didn't ask for this. Well, you didn't turn it down either."

"No I didn't. I just have to make up for some missed classes."

"Because of my family."

"No because I don't want to get a bad reputation with the staff. Nathan being my husband isn't the greatest thing in the world. But it doesn't make a difference right now because the marriage is over."

"But your marriage isn't over. You care about Nathan as much as he cares about you." Brooke argued. "It's frustrating because neither one of you will admit it."

"Well, I don't really know about that."

"Well I do, Haley. I've watched my brother, not just listened to his words. He loves you. And from watching you, I know you love him. That's why I arranged it for you two to be alone in my apartment. Come on. You know I did that on purpose."

"Yes of course I know you did that on purpose, Brooke. I just…it's just really difficult for me to trust you, I guess." Haley answered honestly.

"Why? Why can't you trust me? Is it because of who I am?"

"Well, yea." she said honestly. She didn't want to hurt Brooke, but it's the way she felt.

"Believe me. I'm not the Scott you should be worried about. I know you don't exactly know how if feel about my mother, Haley."

Haley stood up and walked over to Brooke. "Do you understand how difficult it is to go up against someone that you love? Do you know how hard it is to hate them?"

"Actually I think those are the people you can hate because you loved them before. But I know exactly how I feel about Nathan. I love my brother and I want him to have a different life. I want him to have the life that he deserves."

"And that is the life that I want for him too."

"That life includes you too, Haley. Do you know why Nathan was leaving?" Brooke asked.

"He just said he was going up north because he had to live with his uncle and work with him."

"No. There are two reasons why Nathan left. And actually they both have something to do with you. Nathan told me that I should run away from our family, but he can't. He made our mother promise to let me live my life if he agreed to work with our uncle. Don't you see? He's not just protecting me, Haley. He's still protecting you. Nathan doesn't believe that he can have a separate life from our family. He's given up."

"But I let him."

"Well, don't. He needs something to fight for. He needs you, Haley. I look at my brother and I know he loves you. He didn't just choose to leave, Haley. He had to. It was killing him not being able to be with you, to be around you. When Julian told me that you couldn't stop thinking about Nathan either I just had to do something. I wanted you to have a chance to open up to each other before he left."

"It's funny. Nathan and I know, or knew rather, that that's what you were doing. We knew that's why you put us in that room together."

"That's what I don't understand. Why can't you just be honest and tell each other how you feel?"

"I don't know, Brooke. I wish I could, I wish _we_ could." Haley sighed. "Ok. I need a new subject. So it's because of the concussion that Nathan can't remember what happened at the car accident or what led up to it. But I'm gonna tell you this. I really believe that Nathan thought I was in danger."

"Why?"

"He thought your mother was gonna hurt me. I mean, that's the reason he was racing back here. It's the only thing that makes sense, Brooke."

"Would she really do that? I mean, would she really hurt you? What am I talking about? Ever since I found out the truth about my family, nothing has surprised me about what that woman can do."

"You know, I'm really scared that she's gonna try and fill his head with the way she wants him to remember things, the way she wants him to remember what happened at the accident."

"Right. She has to. She has to worry about that because if she doesn't, she could lose him forever. Oh my God, Haley."

"It's alright. So far I've gotten her to stay out of the room, I've gotten her to not even see him since he got admitted to this hospital."

"How did you do that?"

"Well, I'm still his wife, right? I'm his next of kin so I sign the hospital papers and I have final say on his care and who can see him and who can't."

"Well, if you think a bunch of papers is gonna stop my mother, you're crazy. I know what she's gonna do."

"What?"

"She's gonna move heaven and earth to try and control this situation, to control Nathan. She's not going to let anything or anyone stand in her way. We have to do something."

* * *

Deb and Daunte walked into Nathan's room. Deb had finally convinced one of the nurses to let her see him, since Haley had almost entirely banned her access to him. She gasped when she walked in. Nathan's bed was empty. "He's gone."

* * *

Nathan's arm was over Haley's shoulders as she helped him walk up the stairs of the cottage. She and Brooke had snuck him out of the hospital to get him away from Deb.

"We're almost there." Haley said.

"Haley, what are we doing here?" Nathan asked.

Haley quickly unlocked the door and they walked in. She helped Nathan over to the bed and he sat down on it. "Ok."

"Why are we here?"

Haley sat down on the bed next to him. "Look, it's safe and I'm gonna take care of you until you remember everything, ok."

Haley stood up and walked to the kitchen. She began making some hot tea for Nathan and herself. Nathan didn't say anything for a long time and neither did Haley. She grabbed two mugs out of the cabinets and began to fill the tea in each mug. "Haley, I don't understand." Nathan finally said. "I thought you and Brooke were taking me home. Why are we here?"

Haley continued to pour the tea. "Don't worry about anything, Nathan. Listen, everything we need is right here, ok. I'm gonna take care of you."

"Haley, what's going on?"

Haley put the pot back on the stove and brought the two mugs over to the bed. She set them both on the table next to Nathan and then she sat down on the bed next to him. "I brought you here for a very specific reason."

"Do you wanna tell me what it is?"

"Do you remember at the hospital when you told me that the last thing you remember was saying goodbye to me?"

"Yea and driving to the airport. That's it."

"Right. So something must have happened. Something must have made you turn around and drive back to Tree Hill."

"Like what?" Nathan asked slightly confused.

"I don't know. But I know that the truth isn't going to come out unless you're kept away from Deb."

"So you're hiding me from my mother?"

"Nathan, she was trying to brain wash you, ok. I couldn't let that happen."

"What-"

"Just listen to me for a second. I don't want to make you do anything that you don't want to do. So if you say that you want to go home, I will take you home. I will. But the truth is that I don't want you to go home. I want you to stay here with me."

* * *

After Brooke had helped Haley sneak Nathan out of the hospital, she had a five-hour shift at Tric, but she needed to check on her brother. She grabbed her cell phone from her bag in the back and walked to a secluded part of the bar.

She dialed Haley's number and waited for her to answer, but she got her voicemail. "Hey. It's Brooke. You said you'd listen to your messages. I just hope you get this one on time. My mother is looking for you, Haley. I didn't tell her that you were at the cottage, but she has spies everywhere. So be very careful, ok. Tell Nathan I love him and if you need anything, call me."

Brooke shut her phone and quickly walked back into the bar to work.

Unfortunately, she hadn't noticed Deb hiding behind a wall listening to her entire phone call. Including the part when she said exactly where Haley and Nathan were hiding.

* * *

"Look, I still don't get why you brought me here, Haley. Why here?"

"Well, I told you-"

"No. I heard that you want to keep me away from my mother. Why did you bring me to the cottage? This is your place, yours and Lucas'."

"It's ours too, Nathan."

"Well, that must be very confusing for you then."

"No. Not anymore. Besides, this is the only place I was sure Deb doesn't know anything about."

"Why do you think she'd want to brain wash me?"

"Because she's trying to get you to remember things her way."

"About the accident?"

"Yes."

"So you and my mother have different theories about my accident. Well, what do you think happened?"

"I can't tell you."

"Come on. You're obviously scared about something. You're not telling me what's really going on."

"I just want you to get better. "

"No. I don't believe you. You're scared to death. And I've seen that look before. That night on the beach when you thought I was going to kill you."

"Nathan, I'm not afraid of you." Haley brought her hand up to Nathan's cheek. "I haven't been afraid of you in a very, very long time."

"You're sure?"

"I'm sure." Haley nodded.

Nathan brought his hand up to her cheek and slowly kissed her. Nathan pulled back and placed his forehead against hers. "I wish we could start over again."

"Me too. But right now I just need you to be safe." Haley leaned back and looked at him. "I don't know why, but I feel like you're safe with me. Maybe I just want to believe it, but I do."

"I believe it too." Nathan whispered. He brought his hand up to her cheek again and kissed her. Haley's hands went to his hair and she began to rake her fingers through it. Nathan suddenly pulled away. "Oh my God."

"What?" Haley asked.

"I remember something."

"What is it?"

"I think I know why I came back."


	45. Chapter 44

"I think I know why I turned my car around. I was speeding because I had to get back to you."

Haley let out of relieved breath."I knew you would remember this, Nathan. I knew it."

"Hales, you were the only thing on my mind."

Haley smiled. This was the first time he'd called her 'Hales' since the night she told him about calling the FBI. She never knew how much she loved him calling her Hales until he stopped. Haley grabbed the back of Nathan's head and brought him closer to her. She laughed as they kissed again. But a knock at the door stopped them.

"Who knows we're here other than Brooke?" Nathan whispered.

"Nobody."

"Are you sure?"

"Yea, just be quiet. They'll go away."

But the person knocked again. "Nathan!" Deb's voice said on the other side of the door. "Nathan! Are you in there?"

Haley sighed. This was just perfect. "What are we gonna do?"

"Let her in."

"No, I don't think that's a good idea."

"I'll handle her."

Haley reluctantly walked over to the door and unlocked it. When she opened the door, Deb was glaring at her. "If anything has happened to my son-"

"I'm right here." Nathan said, now standing up at the end of the bed.

Deb walked into the room and over to Nathan. "Oh my God. Do you have any idea how worried I was about you?"

"I'm fine. What are you doing here?"

Haley walked over and stood next to Nathan.

"What am I doing here?"

"Yea, what are you doing here, mom?"

"What were you thinking, Haley? What possessed you to kidnap my son from the hospital?"

"I was bringing him here to recuperate." Haley answered.

"Here in this cottage? Well, I'm sorry. He's going right back to the hospital where he belongs."

"No. I'm not going anywhere." Nathan declared.

"No, no. No more arguments. You need constant care and a hospital, Nathan."

Nathan put his arm around Haley's shoulders and she brought her hand up to interlace her fingers with his. "I have exactly the care I need right here."

"Nathan, this is not going to help."

"It already is helping. I'm beginning to remember what happened that night."

"The night of the accident?"

"I remember feeling that I had to hurry back because of Haley. But I can't remember why. Do you?"

"Nathan, I insist that we have to go back to the hospital."

"No. He's staying right here with me. I'm his wife and he belongs with me." Haley said, stepping in front of Nathan.

"Get out of my way, Haley."

"I'm not giving you a choice, Deb."

"Stop playing these childish games. If you don't get out of my way-"

"What? What are you going to do? Kill me?"

"I didn't come here to fight with you."

"No. You came here to make sure Nathan doesn't remember why he was coming back to Tree Hill. Why was he driving back here at 90 miles an hour?"

"Look, we have no time for this nonsense."

"Why was he so upset that he crashed his car and almost died?" Haley continued.

"It was a terrible accident. Now I've had just about enough of this." Deb pulled out her cell phone and dialed a number. "Bear…yes it's me. I found Nathan…yes…I want you to come here so that you can help me bring him home…he's with Haley…yes, it seems as though she kidnapped him from the hospital. We can't seem to get rid of her…"

Suddenly Nathan flashed to the conversation between his mother and Bear on the night of the accident.

"_Sending Nathan away is not going to be enough. As long as Haley James is still alive, she's a threat to this family. In order to protect my son, I have to get rid of the problem."_

Nathan grabbed the phone out of Deb's hands and threw it across the room.

"Nathan! Are you out of your mind?!"

"No. I'm getting it back. I know what you did."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Deb said.

"It was you, mom. You're why I came back. You were going to kill Haley."

"Nathan, I-"

"I remember I was in my car and I called you on the way to the airport. And I told you not to hurt Haley. That even though I'm leaving town, to not forget out agreement."

"Yes. And I said that I would."

"I know what you said. But you lied."

"Why would I lie to you, Nathan? You're my son. Why would I have any reason to tell you anything but the truth?"

"You said that you wanted to get rid of her. That she was still a threat to the family."

"No. I don't know what you're talking about."

"I heard you! You were talking to Bear."

"Stop this. Stop this crazy talk."

"You were planning her execution!"

"Nathan, you are imagining things. I don't know what you dreamt while you were unconscious-"

"You said you wanted it done in a tasteful manner, that you wanted it to look like an accident."

"You have had a serious head trauma. You're confused. It's possible. Think about it."

"I am totally clear. You were planning to kill Haley."

"No. I never meant to harm Haley."

"I am totally clear! I know what you were up to."

"Please sit down and come back to your senses, Nathan." Deb begged.

"I am fine." Nathan put his arm around Haley's shoulders. "Is this true? Did she call you?" Nathan asked, staring at his mother.

"Yea, she called me and told me to come over." Haley answered.

"And then what? Did she threaten you?"

"She said that it was judgment day."

"I never said that." Deb said.

"You never said that? You called me and told me that Nathan wanted to see me and he wasn't even there!"

"Listen to her lies. Can't you see what she's doing, Nathan? She's trying to poison your mind against me."

"Come on. She doesn't have to. You did that all by yourself."

"You would take the word of a stranger over your own mother?"

"She is my wife!"

"Yes. But I'm your mother! I'm the one that fed you when you were a baby. I'm the one that walked you to school everyday. I'm the one that tucked you into bed night after night. I am your mother."

"No, you're not. You are not a mother. I never want to see your face again." Nathan said.

"Can't you see what she's doing to you? Can't you see she's trying to destroy you? She's trying to destroy this family. You were on your way out of town to start a whole new life."

"His life is with me!" Haley yelled.

"His life was never with you."

"Deb, you've done everything humanly possible to come between us and we're together now because nothing has worked! And there's nothing you can say and there's nothing you can do that 's going to come between us!"

"Oh really? If my son cares so deeply for you, why is it that he slept with your best friend?"

Haley gasped at her accusation. But when she looked at Nathan's face, he was looking down at the floor. Haley took a step away from him.

"Get out." Nathan said, still looking at the floor.

"Nathan, I'm sorry." Deb said.

"I want you to leave."

"I'm sorry. I never meant to bring this up about Peyton."

"Get out." Nathan repeated.

Deb looked at Haley. "You see? You think you know my son? You think he belongs with you? As you can see, he doesn't."

Nathan finally looked up from the ground and at his mother. "Did you hear what I said? Get the hell out."

Nathan started to walk toward her, forcing Deb to walk backwards toward the door. "Nathan, please. Think about it. I'm trying to save you."

Nathan continued to force her out the door and onto the porch. "I never want to hear from you again, I never want to see you-"

"I made a mistake! I don't care about you and Peyton!" Deb yelled.

"Stop."

"No."

"Shut up." Nathan said forcefully.

"No! Because I love you! And that's never going to change!"

"You don't love me. You don't love anyone but yourself. There's no love here."

"You look at me." Deb demanded. "You look at me in the eyes. Are you telling me you don't love me? You look in my eyes and tell me if you mean it."

Nathan looked straight at Deb. "Whatever I once felt for you is gone. You killed it. Stay out of my life."

He didn't give her a chance to respond. Nathan turned and headed back inside, shutting and locking the door behind him.

Haley was staring at him as he walked in the room. She watched him sit down on the bed. "What?" Her voice was shaking.

"Hales."

"Did you sleep with Peyton?"

"Haley-"

"Did you sleep with Peyton or not?"

"Yea."

"Oh my God." Haley said softly. She turned her back.

"Please don't do that. Don't turn away from me."

"I can't be here right now." Haley said. She headed toward the door, but Nathan stood up and grabbed her arm.

"Haley, it was just once. It was one time. It was the night you told me you turned me into the FBI."

"And you were so disappointed in me that you slept with my friend?"

"No. I was crazy. I was furious, Haley. You betrayed me."

"So this was revenge?"

"No. Look, I don't know how to explain it. I felt like I was shot through the chest. I wanted to get rid of the pain."

"So Peyton made you feel better? What? Make this make sense for me, Nathan."

"Peyton found out that she was adopted. She was freaking out and we just got drunk."

"And you didn't know what you were doing?"

"I knew what I was doing. I was trying to make it through one of the worst nights of my life."

"Wrong answer. I thought our marriage meant something to you."

"Well, it meant a hell of a lot more to me than it ever did to you." Nathan countered.

"How can you say that?!"

"How can say that? You made it very clear from the beginning that you never wanted to be married to me, that you felt nothing for me, that you would never want me like I wanted you."

"That changed, Nathan."

"How was I supposed to know that? All you ever talked about was Lucas."

"Well, Lucas is with Peyton now. And if he finds out about this, if he ever suspects that Peyton slept with you…" Haley stopped when she noticed Nathan looking at the ground again. "Oh my God. He knows?"

Nathan looked up at her. "Yea. He figured it out."

"I can't believe this. I can't believe that _everybody_ knows! I am never going to forgive you for this, Nathan. Never."

Haley quickly walked outside the back door and stood on the porch. She was trying to hold in her tears when Nathan came outside too.

"Look, I know that it was wrong for me to sleep with Peyton. I made a mistake."

"Yea, you did."

"But in all fairness-"

"In all fairness? What? You think I should forgive you and forget about this?"

Nathan continued. "Haley, I thought that we were finished. I thought that it was over between us."

"Like it was a game, Nathan? We were married."

"We still are."

"Don't be too sure about that."

Nathan slowly placed his hand on her arm. "Hales, it's not too late for us. I know how you feel about me now and you know how I feel about you. We can get through this. What can I do?"

Haley pulled her arm away from him. "Nothing. There's nothing that you can do, Nathan. You broke my heart."

"Don't say that. Peyton meant nothing to me."

"I don't want to hear that." Haley said getting angry.

"I know that we can work this out. We can get through this. I know we can."

"You used to tell me that all the time when we would get in fights and then I would tell you that the only reason we were together was because we had to be. And even then there was a part of me that still wanted us to be together."

"I think we still can be together."

"I couldn't even fathom us splitting apart, but it never occurred to me that you would sleep with my friend either."

"What do you want me to say? It was…I have explained it as much as I can. It was a mistake that I-"

"This marriage was a mistake." Haley said.

She headed back inside, but Nathan was right behind her. As she got close to the front door, Nathan grabbed her arm. "No. Don't go."

Haley stopped and turned around. "Give me one good reason."

"Because I want you back. I want to give our marriage another chance. I never thought I would be doing this. I never thought that I would feel this way about you, that I would fall for you. But I have. Hales, there's not a day that goes by that I don't think about you, where I don't miss you, where I don't want you. I know I should have said these things before, but I thought you didn't want me. So I kept these feelings to myself because I didn't want to be hurt."

"Nathan, I can't just-"

"No. I want you to hear this. I tried really hard to get rid of my feelings for you because I thought our marriage was over. I drank a lot and I did a lot of things to get you out of my system. That's why I slept with Peyton, but it didn't work. My feelings for you only got stronger. I couldn't get rid of those feelings. I want you. I want you more than I've wanted anyone in my life. And I know that you feel the same way. Tell me you do."

"I can't." Haley whispered. She walked away from Nathan and stood on the other side of the room with her back turned.

"Why can't you trust me?"

"Don't do that."

"Do what? I can't be honest about how I feel about you?" Nathan said, walking over to her.

"This could've been perfect."

"How? Tell me. How could it have been perfect?"

Haley turned around and looked at Nathan. "That night that we were here and I told you that I wanted to give our marriage a second chance… and you just turned me away, Nathan."

"Haley, I've explained it. I was just so angry with you-"

"Just listen for a second. Just let me talk, ok. If you had told me then what you're telling me now, it would've made such a difference. But, Nathan, you said you didn't want to have anything to do with me."

"You know I didn't feel that way. That's not how I really felt."

"And how am I supposed to know that what you're telling me now is not just to make up for what you did?" Haley asked.

"Come on. You know me better than that."

"You told me at that park bench that I didn't know you at all. You didn't want to have anything to do with me."

"I was doing that for your own good, Haley. And for mine. I thought that our marriage would never work. We're so different. But I don't care about that anymore. I don't want to lose you, Haley. And I'm not going to let you walk out of my life. I'm not. I know what my life is like without you and it's hell. I hate it. I want you in my life."

Haley wiped the tear that had fallen off her cheek. "Ok, so how about when you told me that you were only attracted to me because we were forced to spend night after night in bed together."

"You know I didn't mean that."

"You said I could be any woman. And you proved that, you know. So…"

"You're wrong. Hales, I…" Nathan took a deep breath to get his thoughts together. "You know, you're not the only one that was hurt."

"I know."

"No. I don't think you do. I went against my family for you. I risked my life to protect yours and you turned me into the FBI." Haley open her mouth to speak, but he continued "But, it's in the past and I'm trying to get past it. I can get past it. Why can't you do the same? Isn't that what makes a strong marriage? The ability to forgive. Don't you remember our vows?"

"There's a few words about fidelity in those vows."

"I know, but don't throw this away. Don't. We have gone through so much and we have overcome so many obstacles. And I know that what we have is good and it's strong and it's real and it's worth fighting for. Don't give up on this, Haley."

Haley closed her eyes for a moment. When she opened them, Nathan was starring intently at her. "I don't want to give up, Nathan. But there's a difference between us."

"What?"

"I was in the same position that you were in and I had plenty of opportunities to sleep with Lucas. And I didn't. I couldn't. Because I thought about it and something stopped me. Because I was looking at Lucas and I was seeing you. And maybe I'm wrong or maybe I'm just too emotional and too upset and hurt to be thinking straight and I'll admit that. But it just seems like this marriage meant a lot more to me than it did to you."

"No. That's not true. You know that's not true."

"I can't. I can't know that. The only thing that I have is that I was faithful to you and I _wanted_ to be. And you weren't capable of doing the same."


	46. Chapter 45

Nathan sat on Brooke's couch with his head in his hands. How could things have gone so wrong? Oh that's right because he was the asshole who slept with Haley's best friend.

After their big fight last night, Haley called Brooke to pick him up and she left without him. He hadn't told Brooke what happened. He said he didn't want to talk about it. Brooke had let him sleep on her couch since he wouldn't go home. When he had woken up, Brooke was gone. He assumed she was at work.

He had gone for a run to clear his head, but it hadn't worked. He still had Haley on his mind. How was he supposed to get her to understand? She had never looked at him like that before. Like her heart was literally broken. He had a horrible feeling in the pit of his stomach that this would be it, the thing to drive her away forever.

Brooke opened up the door and Nathan sat up. "Hey. I got your medicine that Dr. James prescribed for your headaches."

"I don't need that. I'm ok." Nathan said.

"You don't seem ok."

"Why do you say that?"

Brooke walked over and sat down next to him. "Because when I picked you up from the cottage last night, you looked awful. And then I try and ask you what happened to Haley and where she was and you wouldn't tell me anything. You just told me to drive you here and you fell asleep."

"I was wiped out."

"I know. Just tell me what happened now. Why would Haley go from being so concerned about protecting you from mom to just leaving you alone at the cottage? I don't get it."

"Don't worry about it." Nathan said nonchalantly. He really didn't want to talk about this right now. Especially with his little sister.

"No. I am very worried about it, Nathan. Haley sounded really upset when she called and asked me to come pick you up. Come on. I mean, you look like a wreck. What's going on? Just tell me."

"Nothing. It has nothing to do with you."

"I helped Haley hide you and I'm the one that had to lie to mom when she asked me where you were."

"Well…"

"Oh God. Did she find you? Is that what happened?"

"Yep. She found us."

"Did she do something to Haley?"

"No. _I_ did something to Haley. Mom was just kind enough to play messenger."

"What did she do?"

"She dropped a little bomb about something that happened between me and Peyton. I don't know how she found out about it, but she did."

"You and Peyton?"

"Yea."

Brooke groaned. "You didn't, Nathan?"

"I did, alright. Now everybody knows. Yes, I slept with Haley's best friend."

"You slept with Peyton? How could you do that? It's Haley's best friend, her maid of honor. You love Haley. You don't sleep with someone else when you love someone!"

"Sometimes these things…they happen."

"No. You don't just sleep with someone else, Nathan. That just doesn't happen. This doesn't make any sense."

"There were circumstances, alright. Circumstances that you don't know about." Nathan defended. "Peyton and I were drunk-"

"Oh God. Don't give me that. I don't want to hear about your drinking and your sleeping around. I don't want to hear that. Nathan, You're my big brother. I thought you were different."

"Will you relax? It was a mistake. It happens."

"A mistake? No. A mistake is when you write the wrong answer on a test or when you call somebody by the wrong name. What you did, that's a betrayal, Nathan."

"Who did I betray exactly? You or Haley? I'm sorry if I can't live up to this image that you had of me as a kid, but I did make a mistake. And people make them. And sometimes they're actually forgiven."

"But not Haley, right? Because that's what this is all about. So don't even try to turn it around on me. She didn't forgive you. That's what happened. That's why she called me to come pick you up. That's why she's not here. You really hurt her, Nathan."

Nathan pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. He couldn't understand why she was so pissed off about it. "Alright, I hurt Haley. Do you think I'm happy about that? It's the last thing I want."

"Well, you should have thought about that before you slept with Peyton."

Nathan scoffed. "Correction. The last thing I want is a lecture from you. I'm sorry I disappointed you. I'm sorry I'm not perfect, but that's life. It's not as simple as you think it is."

"No. I'm sorry, Nathan, but it is that simple."

Nathan groaned. "That's right. Brooke Scott, the woman of experience. I bet life is so simple in those books you read. The women are pure and the heroes are infallible. And then love conquers all-"

"Don't patronize me, Nathan."

"It doesn't matter what you believe or how you feel. Things happen."

"That's your excuse for everything?" Brooke questioned.

"You don't know everything. And you definitely don't know everything about this situation."

"Nathan, one thing I _do_ know is that what you did is really terrible."

"You want to judge me? Fine. Judge me. Maybe when you mature you'll understand because clearly you're not there now."

"Oh I see. So maybe when I'm _mature_ I can cheat on my husband too. Is that it? Thank you. Thank you for being such a great role model. Thank you for being someone I can look up to." Brooke said sarcastically.

Nathan stood up. "I didn't ask to be your role model. I made a mistake, I screwed up, it happens. Get over it. You know, you keep trying to make everyone live up to these ridiculous standards, you're gonna be nothing but disappointed. What do you want me to say? I'm a man. Are you happy? I'm not perfect."

"How comforting. So all men are pigs? Is that what you're saying?"

"I'm not…I can't deal with you right now. You're not even listening to me. I'm out of here." Nathan said, walking to the door and leaving.

* * *

Haley walked into Tric and spotted Peyton behind the bar. She headed toward her and Peyton smiled when she saw her. "Hey."

"I need to talk to you."

"You want to sit down?"

"In your office." Haley said, walking upstairs to her office, with Peyton behind her.

Peyton unlocked her office and stepped inside. Haley followed her and when Peyton turned around, Haley had begun crying. "Why would you sleep with Nathan? Why would you do that when you knew how I felt about him?"

"Oh my God, Haley."

"At least you're not trying to deny it."

"I didn't mean for that to happen, Haley. Look, it was a mistake. It-"

"I confided in you and I trusted you. You were the only person that I could talk to about this. About what I was feeling and what I was going through and you just didn't care."

"No. That's not true. I felt terrible as soon as it happened. I wanted to tell you the truth."

Haley suddenly got angry. "You wanted to tell me? Oh how thoughtful. I'm sorry I missed all the gory details about how after months of me refusing to sleep with Nathan you get him into bed in one night. That's brilliant! I don't even know why I'm surprised in the first place. You tried to ruin my relationship with Lucas for just over a year. Why wouldn't you try to do the same thing with Nathan? At least when I was with Lucas you didn't pretend to be my friend."

"I am your friend. Haley, let me explain."

"No. What you did, there is no excuse for. It is unforgivable." Haley turned to leave, but Peyton calling her name stopped her.

"Haley, I know. But let me try to make you understand."

Haley angrily turned around. "Understand?! Understand what, Peyton? That you're a slut and you couldn't help yourself? I already knew that. Or how about that you have some sick attraction to whoever I'm with. What is that about you? I know what it is! You got so bored with Lucas, you decided to pass the time with my husband! Right?"

"No. No. What happened with me and Nathan was-"

"It was payback. That's exactly what it was. So are you happy now? Does it feel good to know that I know how it feels to see my husband in bed with someone else, to picture that?"

"Don't do that, Haley. It was nothing. It didn't mean anything."

"But my marriage meant something. Our friendship meant something to me."

"Nathan loves you and your friendship means a lot to me."

"But it didn't stop you." Haley said.

"Look, I know there's no excuse. There's nothing I can say. But try to see where I was then. Try to see where Nathan was then. Haley, we felt like our lives were falling apart. It was just sex."

"You know, I can almost hear you telling Lucas that and explaining it to him that way. But I'm not as naïve as I used to be about you. In fact, I'm embarrassed to say that I even knew you."

Haley turned to leave, but stopped when Lucas stood at the door. "Haley?" He walked into the office and shut the door behind him. "Look, I know everything that happened with Peyton and Nathan. Just give her a minute to explain it to you."

"That's right, you did know. In fact, I was the only one out of the four of us that didn't."

"I understand why you're so upset right now. But just give her a chance." Lucas pleaded.

"You understand me? Yea, you understand me really well, Lucas. So well that you let me walk around like a jerk for weeks. That was really nice of you."

"When I found out, you and Nathan were supposedly done. And you and I were trying to get back together. Do you remember that? But obviously you have feelings for him. I'm getting the feeling that you had feelings for him back then. That was probably our problem."

"What?" Haley questioned, getting angrier by the second.

"Well, if you would've told everyone how you felt. I mean, no one knew what you were thinking. You would've avoided a lot of problems if you were just honest with everyone."

"You're blaming me because she had sex with my husband?!"

"No. Look, it just came out the wrong way. I'm just saying we all should have been more honest with each other and we would've avoided a lot of confusion."

"Oh! So she slept with him to make us less confused?"

"Stop it. You're twisting everything that we say." Peyton said.

"It doesn't matter what you say! Stop! I can't- I can't be here."

"Haley, Peyton made a mistake. She wanted to tell you and she didn't want to hurt you, but I told her not to tell you. Because I didn't think it would be any good to bring it up. I mean, we were all moving on, right?"

"Just shut up. Because you're talking and it doesn't mean anything. You want to know something? It does make a difference to know because now I can get away from all the people that I thought cared about me. So thank for the freedom, guys. It's really, really great."

"Haley, wait." Peyton said, starting to tear up. "I'm sorry. I know you hate me. But you can't hate me anymore than I hate myself for what I've done. Just don't lose Nathan because he loves you. And I know you want to be with him. I'm sorry. Don't let anything get in the way."

"Peyton, it's too late. _You_ already did."

Haley didn't give her a chance to respond. She turned and walked out of the office.

* * *

Haley walked downstairs and back into the main part of Tric. She needed to get her mind off of Peyton and Nathan and Peyton with Nathan. She looked around to see if she recognized anyone and she noticed Mike standing near the bar. Mike had been in a bunch of her classes at school before she left. She walked over to him and a group of guys next to him. "Hey, Mike."

Mike turned around. "Haley, hey. You're an unfamiliar face."

"Yea."

"We missed you at out last few parties." Mike was in a fraternity at school and Haley had often attended their parties when she was there.

"Yea, I missed you guys too."

"Well, I guess that's what happens when you're married lady." Mike joked.

"Yea, well I'm not exactly married anymore. You might want to recheck your information. So I'm back to my old self again and I'm ready to have fun."

"Great. Would you like to join us?"

"Sure." Haley smiled. Haley walked to the bar to order a drink. "How about a Jack and Coke?"

The bartender smirked. "Yea, and I want a Ferrari."

"Well, I'm happy for you, but I'm old enough."

"Can I see some ID?" the bartender asked.

"I don't have it. I left it at home. My friend Peyton owns the club so it's ok."

"I hate when that happens. Let me tell you what. You show me your ID and I'll show you a drink."

Haley scoffed and watched him walk to the other side of the bar to get another customer's order. "That's what you think." Haley leaned over the bar and grabbed a bottle of Vodka and a shot glass. Haley turned back around to face Mike and his friends and poured a shot. "Cheers." She said, throwing the shot back.

"Cheers." The guys said.

Haley poured herself another shot. "Well, there is just one more thing to drink to…something else." Haley drank the shot.

"Hey, why don't you come by the frat tonight? We're having an end of the semester blow out." Mike suggested.

"A blow out?" Haley asked while she poured another shot. "Now that sounds like exactly what I need."

"Good. So come alone, bring a friend, date, whatever."

"Well, I'm fresh out of girl friends. They all have a tendency to sleep with my husband. And since I've kind of been out of the dating scene for a while, I'm fresh out of those too. What do you suggest?" Haley asked, before taking another shot.

"Come alone. Even better." Mike smiled.

"Alone? Now that is another idea that I like."

Nathan had walked into Tric and saw Haley drinking and talking to the guys. He sat down at a nearby table to keep an eye on her.

"So, who is gonna be at this party?" Haley asked, filling the shot glass again.

"All the guys from the fraternity and some that aren't."

"So it's gonna be all these guys and just little old me?" Haley smiled.

"Well, no. It's a mixed group." Mike answered. "I can give you a ride if you want."

Nathan couldn't take it anymore. He stood up and walked over to Haley and the group of guys. "Haley?"

"I'm not talking to you." Haley said, throwing back another shot.

"Ok, why don't you lay off that stuff." Nathan said.

Haley laughed. "Why don't you back off. Can't you see I'm extremely busy?" Haley glared at him.

"Ok." Nathan said, sitting back down at the table. If she wanted to make a fool out of herself, it wasn't his problem anymore.

Haley set the Vodka and the shot glass down on the bar and walked over to Mike. She put her hand on his shoulder and smiled. "So where were we?"

"We were talking about going for a ride."

"That sounds like a lot of fun." Haley looked directly at Nathan. "It has been so long since I have had any fun."

"Well, we're just going to have to take care of that, won't we?" Mike smirked.

"You know, everybody thinks that I'm so straight laced and I'm such a good little girl. But I'll tell you something. It's boring being good. It's boring! It's pretty lonely too. Especially since everyone else is doing what they want to do."

Nathan was done watching this. He stood up and walked over to them. "Hey. What are you doing?" he asked her.

"Is someone talking to me that I'm not talking to? Do you guys see anybody?" Haley asked.

"You're wasted, Haley."

"My conscious speaks. 'You're wasted.' No, I'm not. 'You've had way too much to drink.' I don't think so. So you can just back off because I'm done talking to you. And now that I'm finished with that conversation. What were we talking about? Oh, that's right. The party."

The bartender cleared his throat behind her. Haley turned around and he was holding the bottle of Vodka. "I think you're done with this. So you won't mind if I take this, would you?"

"What? How did that get there?" Haley asked.

"Somebody stole it." The bartender answered.

"Come on now. Peyton is my best friend. She would let me have the whole bottle if I wanted to. We share everything. Right, Nathan?"

Nathan walked over to her and grabbed her arm. "That's it. Party's over."

"No. It's not for me." Haley said, yanking her arm out of his grasp.

"Haley, I'm taking you home."

"No. Leave me alone."

"Woah, woah." Mike said. "Do you understand English? Back off."

"Look, I think you want to stay out of this, alright." Nathan warned.

"Yea? And just who do you think you are, buddy?"

"I'm her husband, _buddy_." Nathan said.

Haley laughed. "I'm sorry. This is Nathan Scott."

Mike and his friends took a step back. "Scott?"

"Yea. Husband for a day. Or was it two? Something like that. I don't know. But he's an ex now because we're over. We're annulled."

"Look, we don't need any trouble, alright." Mike said, looking at Nathan.

"Well, I do. So why don't you just show me where that party is." Haley said.

"I don't think that a party is such a good idea right now." Mike said.

"I think it's a great idea. That's what I need. I need a party and I need another drink. So who is buying?"

"No. Nobody's buying." Nathan said, coming up behind her and wrapping his arm around her waist to stop her from leaving with them.

Mike and his friends started walking off. "Come on, Mike! You gotta be kidding me. Guys, come back!" Haley pushed Nathan's arm off of her and turned around. "Thank you. Thanks for scaring away my friends."

"Hey. We need to talk."

"Talk to yourself."

"I know that you're upset about what happened with me and Peyton. But let's get out of here and talk."

"No. I don't wanna talk. I want to go have fun. I want to go to a party. Which is where I'm going right now."

"No you're not."

"Yes I am."

"No you're not. I am not going to let you drive."

"You don't have any say over me because we're over, we're annulled. How's that for over?" Haley crossed her arms over her chest.

"I don't care. You're not going to drive."

"I am to."

"No. You're not going anywhere. If you're doing anything, you are leaving with me."

"I'm good. But thanks for the memories. I'm back to college now. And I'm going to parties and mixers and you have no right to rain on my parade." Haley chuckled.

"What is your problem? This isn't you."

"Of course it's not. I'm drunk. Oh please. Like you ever knew me anyway."

"I know you. I do."

"Gotta go." Haley said, turning to leave, but Nathan grabbed her arm.

"No you don't. You're not going anywhere."

Haley sighed. "What are you afraid of, Nathan? Are you afraid I'm gonna find a warm body like you did with Peyton?"

"Cut it out."

Haley continued. "Someone to comfort me with meaningless sex? So you can forgive me like I'm supposed to forgive you?"

"Don't do something crazy just to get back at me."

"Crazy? Well there's an idea I like." Haley smiled.

"Don't. It's not right and you know it."

"I'm sick of being right. I'm sick of doing what's right and being the nice girl and the faithful girl because nice girls finish last. Right? Why don't you ask Peyton about that."

"That is not true."

"Where's my drink?"

"I think you've had enough." Nathan said.

"You know what? This is your remedy. I'm following your example from what you did. So just…you know, I have one question. How much do I have to drink and what do I have to do before I can forget, before I can just sleep with someone that I don't give a damn about, huh? Can you tell me? Because I don't think there's that much liquor in Tree Hill. Time to go." Haley grabbed the keys to her car out of her pocket.

"No. You're not gonna drive." Nathan said, grabbing the keys from her.

"Give me the keys, Nathan!"

"You are in no condition to drive. I'm sorry."

"Look at me. I'm fine. I'm gonna walk in a straight line for you, I can touch my toes, I can whistle the theme to the Godfather. Is that what you want? What do you want from me?"

"I want you to come with me."

"Nope. Wrong answer. What's behind door number two?"

Nathan looked at her for a second and then grabbed her arm, walking her to the door. "Come on. Let's go."


	47. Chapter 46

Nathan still had hold of Haley's arm as he opened her bedroom door. "Will you stop fighting me? I'm doing this for your own good." Nathan lightly shoved her onto her bed and shut the door behind him.

Haley groaned. "What are you from pre-historic times or something? You gonna hit me over the head with your club a couple of times like a human nail? That might be nice." Haley said, sitting up.

"Don't tempt me. Stay down." Nathan pushed her shoulder so that she wouldn't stand up.

"No. This is my house and I'm gonna do whatever I damn well please." Haley stood up and headed for the door, but she tripped and fell.

"How you doing, grace?" Nathan mocked.

"I'm peachy. Thank you."

"Look, I know you're mad at me." Nathan began.

"La la la la la." Haley sang very off key. "You're in my personal space. And it's right here and you are in it."

Nathan grabbed her arms and helped her up, sitting her back on her bed. "Come on."

"Stop it, stop it, stop it. You're ruining my night."

"Isn't that more comfortable?"

"Come on, Nathan." Haley pleaded.

"You know what? You talk too much."

"What are you gonna do? You gonna give me a pair of cement shoes to silence me?"

"Well, actually I'm out of those right now." Nathan chuckled.

"Well, why don't you go mix some and leave me alone. I have a party to go to and I'm late."

"You're not going to any party. You're gonna stay under the covers and you're gonna sleep it off." Nathan said, grabbing onto her ankles and pushing her higher onto the bed.

"This is ridiculous! I'm not a baby."

Nathan sat down beside her. "Then why don't you stop acting like one."

"Let me go." Haley said.

"No. I'm not letting you go. Ever again." Nathan looked her straight in the eyes. "Haley-" Nathan began taking her shoes off.

"What are you doing?"

"Do you know how much I care about you?" Nathan asked.

"Ok that's making me dizzy."

"You know, I still remember the first time I saw you."

"I'm gonna be sick."

"Do you remember? You were studying and you wouldn't look at me. I knew that you were someone very special. I saw your soul."

"That's so poetic, Nathan." Haley said sarcastically.

"Thank you." Nathan smirked. "And I knew that I wanted to be with you. Haley, I still do."

"Too bad."

"No, listen. Haley, I would do anything to erase what happened with Peyton because we'd be together right now and we wouldn't be doing this."

"I wanna go out."

"Well, you can't. I'm sorry. I'm not going to let you."

"Well I could if you would let me go."

"Nope. I'm gonna stay right here and watch over you until Jake comes home. So you can kick me or you can scream. You can bite me if you want, but I'm not leaving."

"You know, you spoil my fun."

"Sorry."

"Well, you owe me a party. So let's party." Haley said, wrapping her arms around his neck. Haley brought his head closer and kissed him. Nathan placed his hands on her hips and started to lay her down on her back. Haley raked her fingers across his neck and Nathan deepened the kiss. Nathan suddenly snapped out of it and stopped kissing her.

"Hold on."

"Fine." Haley pushed Nathan off of her and he fell on the floor next to the bed. "Tell me. How do I compare to Peyton? How is it? Am I as good as she is, Nathan?"

Nathan sighed as he sat up. "Great."

"So how about it. How do I compare to my good friend Peyton?" Haley stood up on her bed and jumped off, landing next to Nathan.

"Hey, hey, hey. Take it easy. I was just in a car accident." He said, standing up.

"I'm just looking for some constructive criticism."

Nathan walked away from her, but Haley was right behind him. "Well, forget it. I'm taking the fifth on this."

"Why? How come? I mean, you don't have to worry about hurting my feelings or anything. It's a little late for that. Listen, I know I'm not as experienced as Peyton is, but I'm a quick learner. So come on. Let's do it." Nathan turned around and Haley tried to unbutton his shirt.

"Stop it." Nathan said, pushing her hands away.

"No. You don't want me to stop."

"I'm not playing with you." Nathan said, walking away from her again.

"Why? You had no problem _playing_ with Peyton." Haley walked over to Nathan. "Don't you want me as much as you wanted her, Nathan?"

"You're crazy. How can you ask me that?"

Haley pulled the straps of her tank top down. "Come on. Let's go then. Let's go right now."

Nathan pushed the straps back up. "Stop. Cut it out."

"You are just no fun at all tonight, are you?"

"Baby, this isn't fun."

"Why not? It's just a little meaningless sex between two friends. I mean, I've been drinking so it's doesn't really count."

"Because it wouldn't be meaningless."

"Come on, Nathan. I am looking for a good time and I hear you are the man for the job. So come on. Let's go right here." Haley sat down on her bed and patted the spot next to her. "We can sleep together and then we can just forget it ever happened the next day, right? I can get back to my frat party and you can go back to your life of crime. Come on. Take me, Nathan. Take me just the way you took Peyton. Come on."

"You're wasted. You know this is not what you want."

"This is what we both want, isn't it? Isn't this why you look at me the way you do? Why you stare at me like you're looking into my-"

"No it's not. You know that."

"Fine. If you're not going to give me what I want, I'm gonna go someplace else for it."

Haley stood up and headed for the door. Nathan wrapped his arms around her and stopped her. "No, no, no. If you're gonna be like this, I've got no other choice."

Nathan picked her up and headed for the bathroom. He opened the door and set Haley on the floor. Nathan closed the door and kept his foot in front of it so Haley couldn't open it. Haley swatted at him as he turned on the shower.

"You think just because you saved my life you're responsible for me?! I don't even…I hate you."

"Alright."

Nathan grabbed Haley's arm and forced her into the shower. "No! No! Nathan, let me out of here! This is freezing!"

Nathan grabbed Haley's head and pushed her further into the water. "In you go."

"I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you for everything you've done to me! I hate you!"

"No you don't. Don't say that."

Haley began to sob. "I cared about you!"

Nathan stepped into the shower with her and wrapped his arms around her. "Ok."

"Why did you make me hate you?" Haley cried.

Nathan slowly slid them both to the bottom of the shower so they were sitting as Haley continued to sob. "It's ok." Nathan kissed the back of her head and wrapped his arms around her tighter. "It's ok."

* * *

When Haley had stopped crying, Nathan reached up and turned off the water. "You ok?" Haley nodded. "Come on. Let's get you dried off." He stood up and then helped her out of the shower. Haley stood there shivering and Nathan wrapped a towel around her. "You look like a wet puppy. Come on."

Nathan grabbed another towel for himself as they walked back into her bedroom. Haley sat down on her bed and continued to shiver. "Please go." She begged.

"Nope. I'm not going anywhere." Nathan walked over to her closet and took out her robe.

"Nathan, come on. You kept me away from the party and your mission accomplished so get out."

Nathan closed the closet door and placed the robe around her shoulders. "I'm not leaving you alone. You can complain all you want." Nathan sat down on the bed next to her. "So, let's talk."

"There's nothing to talk about. You had a need and Peyton was there. Who cares, right?" Haley pulled the robe tighter on her body and laid down on side, with her back to Nathan.

"Well, apparently you care."

"No, Nathan. I am just…I'm over it."

Nathan placed his hand on her hip. "Haley, how many ways do I have to say that I'm sorry? I hate that I hurt you."

"Then why did you do it?" she asked.

"I told you. I was upset. I mean, you betrayed me. I thought we were over."

"Nathan, please don't make this my fault."

"I'm not making it your fault. I know I'm completely responsible for what I do. But, I'll never hurt you again."

Haley rolled over on her back to look at him. "I don't know how to trust you. Can you just tell me how I'm supposed to trust you?"

"I don't know. I guess you're just gonna have to close your eyes and jump."

"I can't. I can't do that anymore. I'm just finally realizing that I thought I understood you and where you were from and who you are, but I just…I don't."

"Why do you say that? Just because of what happened that one night?"

Haley sat up slightly and leaned her head against her headboard. "It's not just that one night. I'm just…this woke me up a lot. It made me realize that our worlds don't mix."

"Haley, you know that we should be together. You can't just deny how we feel."

"Feelings don't make a difference anymore, Nathan."

"Yea they do." Nathan argued.

"They don't because I can't keep making excuses for you. Your family kills people for a living. They kill people, Nathan. You're not misunderstood. You're a gangster. I can't live like that. I can't live with who you are."

"Ok. Then I'll change. I'll change for you. Hales, you're all that matters to me." Nathan brought his hand up and stroked Haley's cheek.

* * *

Haley sat next to Nathan on the bed brushing her hair. She had changed out of the wet clothes into a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. Haley was still trying to wrap her head around the fact that he told her he would give everything up for her.

"So you're just gonna give everything up? Your family, your business, everything?" Haley asked skeptically.

"Yea. All of it."

"I don't believe you can do it, Nathan." Haley told him honestly.

"Hales, I don't care about any of those things if I can't have you."

"Your mother will never let you go."

"Forget her. She doesn't have a choice."

"This is who you are. You can't just change that." Haley argued.

"It's who I _was_." Nathan rested his cheek against her shoulder. "You know, ever since I was a boy I've been groomed to take over the business. And for a while I thought that's what I wanted, but I don't anymore."

"How do you know?" Haley asked turning her head to look at him.

"Because I want you." Nathan said looking straight into her eyes.

"And what about the loyalty that you have to your family? You're just gonna give that up too?"

"I will do whatever it takes. If that's what I have to do for us to be together, I will take us as far away from here, as far away from my family as we have to go. Ok?"

"It's too late. You can't change who you are. You said it yourself."

"I can. If I set my mind to something, I can."

"Why? Why are you willing to do all of this for me? Why now?"

Nathan placed his forehead against hers. "You know why." He said huskily. "Say yes. Say that you'll be with me and I promise I'll take care of everything else."

"Nathan…"

Nathan wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer to him. "Haley, give me a chance. You know, I'm not the person my mother raised me to be when I'm with you. I don't want to be that person anymore."

Haley brought her hand up and stoked his cheek. "Nathan, I don't know what to say."

"Say yes."

Nathan began kissing Haley's neck when the phone rang. Nathan tried to stop her from answering it. "It's 9 o'clock. Let the machine get it." He said, between kisses

But she grabbed it anyway "Hello?" Haley answered.

"_Is this Haley_?" the voice said.

"Yes."

"_This is Daunte Fox. I'm looking for Nathan Scott. Is he there with you_?"

"Um-"

"_It's an emergency, Haley. If he is there you have to let me speak with him_."

"Ok." Haley held out the phone. "It's Daunte Fox."

Nathan grabbed the phone from her. "Yea, Daunte?"

"_Nathan, I just dropped your mother off at the house. When I was driving away I heard gun fire_."

"What?"

"_I think there has been an attempt on your mother's life_."

"Ok. I'll be right there." Nathan hung up the phone and stood up. He started grabbing his things.

"What's going on?" Haley asked.

"Look, someone took a shot at my mother."

"What?"

"I gotta go. I'm sorry."

"I'm coming with you."

"Ok."

Haley stood up and grabbed her shoes. She quickly put them on and they walked out of her room.

* * *

Nathan and Haley walked hand in hand into the Scott mansion. Nathan had driven like a madman all the way there. Haley was really worried about him. "No! No!" they heard Deb scream.

Nathan took off and sprinted for his mother's office. He and Haley came in and saw Brooke on the ground with Julian and Deb kneeling beside her. "Oh God." Nathan said, quickly walking over to Brooke and kneeling down next to her. "What happened?"

"This is my fault! It's my fault! I killed my baby! I killed my daughter!" Deb sobbed.

"Is she hit?" Nathan asked, looking at Julian. Deb was too distraught to answer.

"No. It's just glass."

Suddenly Brooke started to cry. Nathan reached for her hand. "Are you ok?" Nathan looked at his mother. "What happened?"

"I don't know. This was never meant to happen."

"What are you talking about? What was never meant to happen?" Nathan asked.

"Nathan, your questions can wait." Daunte said, coming into the room.

"What do you mean they can wait?!"

"Your mother just survived an assassination attempt."

Deb grabbed held Brooke's hand. "Let's get you up and take care of that injury."

Brooke nodded and let Julian and Nathan help her up. She slowly walked over and sat on top of Deb's desk. Deb grabbed the first aid kid and began wrapping her arm.

"Does it hurt, baby?" Deb asked.

"It's fine."

"Look, maybe we should take her to an emergency room or something." Julian suggested.

"No." Nathan said.

"If this thing gets infected-"

"She's fine. We know what we're doing. It's fine."

"Julian, it's ok. It's just a scratch." Brooke assured him.

"Ok. So let a doctor tell you that."

"It's ok."

Nathan looked at Julian. "Julian, what happened?"

"Brooke and I were just gonna go to a club and we came back here to get a dress for her. We were headed for the door and-"

"Somebody tried to assassinate your mother." Daunte interjected. "Nathan, I had just dropped your mother off from a business dinner and as I was driving away I heard gun fire."

"And that's when you called me?"

"Yes. In my car on the way back to the house."

Brooke began crying again. Nathan walked over and pulled her into a hug. "Nathan, it was so loud. I was so scared."

"It's ok. You're alright."

"Whoever it was must have had a machine gun or something like that. Because it was one big, long burst of…" Julian said.

Nathan looked and saw Kenny, one of the bodyguards standing off to the side. "Where the hell were you?! Huh?"

"I gave Kenny the night off." Deb said.

"Why?"

"I was having dinner with my attorney, Nathan. I didn't see the need."

"You didn't see the need for protection? What's the matter with you? That's not like you at all."

"You can be sure I will never make this mistake again."

"Somebody was obviously staking out the house waiting for Deb to return. Thank God he screwed up the job." Daunte said.

"Screwed up the job? What are you talking about? My sister almost got hit. She could've been killed."

"Why would anyone want to kill you, mom?" Brooke asked.

"Brooke, I don't know. I have no idea."

"We just have to call the cops. We have to go to the police." Brooke said frantically.

"No. We're not going to call the cops. Don't worry about it. I'll take care of this." Nathan assured her.

"But what if somebody comes back? What if they come back with more guns?"

"Nobody is going to come back."

"How can you say that?" Julian asked.

"Because it was a warning. I know what this was. It's not going to happen again."

Haley pinched the bridge of her nose. She had been listening to everything everyone had been saying and she was a little confused about one particular thing. Haley walked over and stood in front of Deb. "Deb, why did you say this is your fault? Why did you say you killed your own daughter?"

"I don't understand."

"That's exactly what you said."

"I killed…"

"Yea. You said that it was your fault somehow. Why did you say that?"

"It happened here in my own home."

"Haley, she was obviously in a state of shock. What came out of her mouth was-" Daunte started to say.

"Why would you think that this was your fault?" Haley pressed. She wasn't going to give up on this. Something was off about Deb's reaction to the whole situation.

"It was a perfectly normal reaction, Haley. A mother sees her child in pain and she feels guilty for having failed to protect her." Daunte argued. "It doesn't make sense, but it's understandable."

"Really?"

"Hales, of course my mother would feel responsible." Nathan chimed in.

"Why? Why would she feel-"

"Not now." Nathan said.

"Don't you want to find out what happened?"

"I said not now. Ok?" Nathan said forcefully.

"Ok." Haley said holding her hands up in surrender.

Nathan sighed. "I'm sorry. Look, if anyone's to blame for this it's me."

"What are you talking about?"

"Because there's been talk. It's been going on for a while and lately it's been getting a lot louder. There's a feeling among our competitors that our organization has been weakened because of me. That I've caused a rift."

"You're being much too hard on yourself, Nathan." Deb said.

"No, I'm not. I know what's going on. I hear what's happening. Our competitors were looking for an opportunity to strike and this obviously was it."

"Thank you, Nathan." Deb said.

"For what? For messing everything up?"

"You know how important it is to have you here with us. Thank you." Deb pulled Nathan into a hug.

Haley saw the interaction between Nathan and his mother. She closed her eyes for a second and shook her head. "Don't do this, Nathan. Please don't do this." She muttered to herself.

It was happening again. She could feel it. Everything Nathan had just told her was about to be thrown out the window because of Deb again.


	48. Chapter 47

"Nathan, can I please talk to you for a second?"

Nathan let go of his mother and looked at Haley. "Haley, I'm not-"

"It's ok, Nathan. We're fine." Deb said.

Nathan followed Haley into the hallway and Haley shut the doors behind them. "What? What's up?"

"Do you remember what you said to me at all?" Haley asked.

"When?"

"Tonight, before Daunte called."

"Haley, my mind is completely fried. What are you talking about?"

"You said that you were going to walk away from this."

"How can you say that? My mother's house was just riddled with bullets."

"No. I know-"

"My sister was almost killed."

"I know. It's terrible."

"Haley, I have to figure out who's responsible for this."

"Don't you think the police should be the ones to figure that out?"

"No. I can't- I can't talk to you right now."

Nathan headed back towards the doors to his mother's office, but Haley grabbed his arm.

"Wait. Look, I won't talk to you about the police." She let of his arm when he stopped moving. "I'm just saying…" Haley sighed. "I'm looking at you in there and I'm seeing how you're responding to everything and it just…"

"Alright. Ok. I know how this probably looks to you. That everything I said to you earlier isn't true. But I meant everything I said. I did. I just need to take care of this first."

"How? How are you going to take care of it?"

"I don't know. I'm gonna have to make sure nothing like this ever happens again. I have to. And once I've done that-"

"And then what? Are you gonna walk away then?" Haley took a step away from him. "No."

"No what?"

"No, you're not. You can't. This is who you are and I cannot…I can't ask you to be something that you're not, Nathan."

"Don't do this. Come on. Don't give up on us." Nathan said, walking closer to her and caressing her cheek.

"Well, I can't do that either. You're in my blood."

"Hales, it's not gonna be forever. I promise." Nathan kissed her forehead. "Ok. We'll talk later, alright?"

"Alright."

"Right now, you need to get out of here."

"What?"

"Haley, you can't be a part of this."

"No. I'm staying right here."

"No you're not. I'm sorry."

"Nathan, I worried about you. Whoever did this might come after you next."

"That's why you have to go home. It's not safe for you here."

"Wait. You just want me to sit at home and wait for you to call me until after you clean this up?"

"Haley-"

"No. There's no way."

"Haley, I will figure out a way for us to have everything that we talked about. I promise."

Haley placed her hands on his cheeks. "The only thing I want right now is you."

"You have to do this for me. Please." Nathan pleaded.

"I don't want to be apart from you right now."

"Do you think I want that? I don't want that either."

"Fine. So let me stay."

"No. You can't. You have to go home. Just give me some time and I promise you-"

"Don't. Don't promise me anything. Just take care of yourself. Please."

"Ok."

Nathan brought her face closer to his and kissed her. When he pulled away he kissed her forehead again and then grabbed her hand and led her into the office.

"Julian, will you do me a favor and take Haley home right now? Please?" Nathan asked.

"Yea." Julian turned and put his hand on Brooke's cheek. "Are you alright?" Brooke nodded.

"Why are you taking her home yourself, Nathan?" Deb asked.

"I'm gonna stay here just until things get settled."

"Julian, can we go?" Haley asked.

"Yea. Will you walk me out?" he asked Brooke.

"Yea."

Brooke and Julian grabbed hands and they walked out of the office with Haley.

* * *

The next afternoon Nathan walked into his mother's office and saw her and Bear talking. "Hey. Where's that number for Burkeston?"

"Burkeston?" Deb asked.

"Yea, in New York."

"What do you want with Burkeston?"

"I'm trying to make some calls and find out who might be responsible for this."

"No luck, huh?" Bear asked.

"No. Nobody is talking. It's not even Martin Gatina. It's like talking to a wall."

"Why do you want to contact Burkeston?" Deb asked.

"He's got all those connections in New York. I thought he could sniff around up there and see if he can figure out anyone that would want to expand down here."

"I'm sure that's not the case, Nathan. We'd hear long before Burkeston would if something was in the works. Don't you think so, Bear?"

"Yes. New York is quiet, Nathan." Bear agreed.

"Well, someone is making noise and getting reckless. I mean, who do you think would take that kind of risk?" Nathan looked at his mother. "Do you know? Who do you think would have the most to gain?"

"No one would be stupid enough to have their name connected to this. Especially after your sister was almost killed. Which I'm sure they didn't count on."

"Yea, I bet."

"And I'm sure they won't try that again especially now that we are all back as a family. You know that that's important, Nathan. That you're back."

Nathan took a breath. "Let me make one thing very clear, mom. I am not back in this family. That's never gonna happen. I'm making a life with Haley as soon as I find out what happened here and I take care of whoever did this. So, back to the task at hand. I've been looking into some of our recent transactions. The ones where another family might have felt unfairly treated and hold a grudge."

"No one would be careless enough to have it traced back to them, Nathan." Deb argued.

"Well, I'm thinking about the one time I crossed the line and operated our of our territory and got arrested. I think that's where I should start."

"To start what? What? You want to create bad blood? No, Nathan. It's going to escalate."

"We have to get people talking and the only way to do that is to rattle some cages and provoke them. I'm gonna go make some more calls." Nathan grabbed a stack of papers off his mother's desk and headed to make the calls.

When the doors closed Deb sighed. "Dear God. He's going to create trouble when there is none."

"What are you gonna do?" Bear asked.

"I have to get control of the situation. I know exactly what I have to do."

* * *

Haley opened her front door and Julian walked in. They were both still reeling from the events from last night. Both of the people they cared about were back in that house. Haley knew Julian cared about Brooke just like she cared about Nathan. "Hey."

"Hey. Is your brother here?" They had decided not to tell Jake the whole truth about what had happened and he wanted to make sure it was ok for them to talk.

"No, he's not."

Julian and Haley sat down on the couch next to each other. "I need to know exactly what you told him."

"Well I sure as hell didn't tell him the house got ricocheted with bullets. I can't even believe this. I can't believe that you almost got killed, Julian."

"Yea that thought didn't escape my thought either, Haley."

"So what happened? You guys went to get a dress? What?"

"Yea."

"I feel really, really responsible for this."

"Hales, you had nothing to do with us being over there."

"You would never have met Brooke if it wasn't for me."

"This isn't your fault, ok. It just happened. I was involved, but for now I'm ok."

"Yea you're ok now. What happens when you keep seeing her? You have to stop this. You have to forget about her, Julian."

"No, Haley. I'm not gonna do that."

"Julian, I'm serious. You have to stay away from her."

"Is that what you're gonna do?! Huh?! Come on, Haley. Even the thought of being away from Nathan, you can't stand it. Even for a while." Julian pointed out. He let out a breath to calm himself. "Look, I have this image of that girl when those bullets came through the window. She was scared to death. Even afterwards."

"I know. I saw."

"Yea. And now she's back in that house."

"And so is Nathan."

"Yea. Right when you thought you had found each other again, right?"

"Yea, I know. It's pretty unbelievable, isn't it? You know something? Deb got exactly what she wanted. That's really unbelievable."

"You can't be serious. You're telling me you think Deb Scott set up an attempt on her own life?"

"Absolutely. Julian, I wouldn't put anything past that woman."

"No. No. It doesn't add up. It's not possible, Haley."

"Alright, don't you think it's kind of convenient that everything has sort of worked out for her? She's got Brooke right where she wants her. At home, away from you. She's got Nathan where she wants him. Right by her side, fighting for the family."

"Nathan doesn't seem like the kind of guy that would just cut and run."

"No, he's not. But we are talking about Deb. She's manipulative. Julian, you don't know what this woman is capable of."

"Yea, I think I do. I have an idea. One thing I know for sure is how much the woman loves her daughter. I mean, she practically treats Brooke like she's made out of glass."

"I know. So does Nathan."

"Look, Deb Scott has spent her entire life protecting Brooke and keeping her away from what really goes on in that family. There's no way in hell she would allow that to happen, Haley. Brooke could have been killed." Julian argued.

"Ok, you're right. You're right. That doesn't even make sense for Deb." Haley ran her hands over her face. "This is so frustrating for me. I mean, Nathan was right there and he was ready to just walk away from the family. He was going to do that for _me_. And then this happened and they got threatened and they got shot at and then there he was right at their side. What is that?"

"Well of course he's gonna be by their side. His little sister just got hurt."

"No, no. I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about the way he responded to his mother and the whole situation. I mean, the walls went up. Didn't you see this? He got this cold look in his eyes-"

"You're being a little overdramatic here, don't you think?"

"No I'm not."

"Look, Hales. As soon as Nathan finds out exactly why this whole thing happened he's gonna get out."

"That's what he keeps telling me."

"You don't believe him?"

"I'm just scared. I'm really scared that once he gets back involved with that family he's not going to be able to walk away from them. I don't think he's gonna be able to walk out of that house. And what about you with Brooke? Doesn't it bother you at all that things aren't going back to normal with you?"

"Look, Brooke may be back in that house but it's only temporary. Families come together in a time of crisis. But Brooke is not the naïve little girl her mother sent off to California to go to school. She hates the way her mother controls her and lies to her. Trust me, Brooke is not going to go back in that house." Haley heard a hint of doubt in his voice. He wasn't sure what was gonna happen either.

Julian's phone beeped and interrupted their conversation. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and check the text message. "Who is it?" Haley asked, noticing the look on his face.

"I forgot I told my mom I would help her clean out her garage today. It's ok. I'll tell her I got caught up with you. But I gotta go." Julian stood up.

"Ok. I'll talk to you later then." Haley stood up and pulled him into a hug.

"It's gonna be ok, Hales. Nathan will come back."

"I hope so." Haley said as they let go.

"I'll see you." Julian said, walking out of the door.

Haley was about to head to her room to take a nap, since the events of last night hadn't allowed her to get a full night's sleep when her cell phone rang. She grabbed it off the coffee table and saw _Nathan_ flash across the screen. "Hi."

"_Hi_."

"How are you? Did you find anything out? What's going on?" Haley asked frantically.

"_I can't talk about that. I just wanted to hear your voice_."

Haley smiled at the comment. "You know, I've been really worried about you. I just keep thinking about how everything is gonna be once all this is in the past. You know?"

"_Yea. We're gonna be together, Haley. And we're gonna get as far away from this as we can. I promise_."

* * *

The next morning Nathan sat on the sofa in the Scott Mansion looking through a book. It was one of Haley's she had left there when she was living with him at the house. He looked up from it when he heard Brooke come into the room.

"What's that?"

"It's just one of Haley's books."

"You gonna go take it to her?"

"No. I'm gonna have it sent over to her place. It's not really safe for Haley if I show up there."

"But you want to go don't you?"

"It doesn't matter. I can't. Not until I find out who has it in for us."

"So that means you're gonna stay here with us?" Brooke smiled.

"Brooke, just until things are safe. That's it."

"Yea, and when are things gonna be safe? Really safe? I was shot at, Nathan. And Julian and I could've been killed. You know there's someone out there who's still really mad they didn't get mom. So you see. You have to stay. Mom says it's the only way."

"Mom put you up to this, didn't she?" Nathan asked. "Admit it. She told you to talk to me. Nice try, mom." Nathan said, seeing Deb coming into the room.

"Nathan, this is not a good time."

Nathan stood up and walked over to his mother. "Now you're gonna try and use Brooke to intimidate me? Is that what you're doing?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Look, I told you that I'm gonna stay in this house until the situation is resolved. That's it. I know my responsibilities as the man of the house. You don't have to deploy secret agents to whisper them in my ear. Don't do this."

"Don't do what?" Deb asked.

"Don't make her anymore terrified than she already is. Look at her. She's terrified to go out of the house. Julian invited her to lunch and she didn't go because she can't bring herself to go out the front door. You're making her a prisoner in her own home."

"I never meant for that to happen."

"Well, that's what you got with all your talk of terror and revenge. What did you think it would do to her? If we're gonna be a family, a strong unified family, we are gonna have to start acting like one. Otherwise we're just wasting our time."

* * *

Haley walked into the diner to pick up some take out. She had woken up late because she had tossed and turned all night again thinking about Nathan. She wasn't in the mood to cook so she called in some take out.

She grabbed her order and heading back toward the door. As she walked past the booths and saw Peyton sitting there eating. "Haley?" Peyton said surprised to see her.

"Hey." Haley said looking down at the ground.

"Do you wanna…?" Peyton asked, pointing to the seat across from her. Haley just looked at her. "You're still mad at me for that stupid night with Nathan."

Haley sighed. "No. I'm past it."

"Are you sure?"

"Yea. Peyton, I don't like what you did. I mean, it hurt a lot. But I know it was a mistake and God knows I've made my share. I have more important things to worry about anyway as usual."

"What?"

"Don't worry about it."

"Please. Just let me try to help." Peyton pleaded. "You just need someone to listen."

Haley thought for a moment and then sat down. "Alright. Nathan is back in the Scott house."

"What? Why?"

"There was an attack on his mother and Brooke ended up getting hurt. There was a shooting. I mean, it wasn't bad. It's just now he feels like he has to be back with the family and helping them and protecting them."

"So what does that mean for you?"

"I don't know. He says that we're gonna be together soon. Peyton, I just have this gut feeling that I'm losing him, really losing him this time. It's killing me."

"You need to stop this. Everything is gonna work out. Nathan loves you, Haley."

"I know. I just keep thinking about what might have happened if I had said something to him about how I felt earlier. I keep thinking about our wedding and I keep thinking about the fact that I felt great that day. I felt like his bride. I felt like his wife. And the way he looked at me and the way that he kissed me. And I couldn't tell him. I couldn't get past my pride and tell him how I was feeling. I just don't understand why. Why did I have to waste so much time? Now it feels like I'm never gonna get the chance."

"No. What do you mean? You're giving up? Nathan would never let you go. Are you gonna let him go?"

"I don't want to, Peyton. I really don't. But it's completely out of my hands now."

"This isn't like you. Even before you admitted you love him, you'd never back down to Deb."

"I know. It's just not as easy as it used to be. She's got him back in the house. She's got him under her control. There's nothing that I can do."

"Haley, whatever it is that is pulling on him, what you have is love. And love is stronger."

"I hope so."

"I know so." Peyton took a breath. "Look, I'm gonna propose a truce here. A friendship."

"Ok. I mean, just give me a little time considering…but yea. I'd like that."

"Ok." Peyton smiled.

"Well, I'm gonna go." Haley stood up and grabbed her bag. "Thanks for listening, Peyton."

"Yea. Haley, believe me. If things can work out for me then things can definitely work out for you because you deserve it."

"Thanks." Haley smiled and then walked out of the diner.

* * *

Haley changed out of her jeans into a pair of sweatpants and threw her hair into a messy bun. It had been a pretty lazy day for her. Waiting for Nathan to call was making her crazy and she needed something to do to pass the time. She decided she was gonna watch _The Notebook_ and pig out on cookie dough ice cream. She needed a good cry considering her life at the moment.

Haley heard a knock at her bedroom door and turned around to see Nathan walking through. "Hi." She smiled.

"Hi."

Haley rushed toward him and threw her arms around his neck. They both smiled as they kissed for the first time in almost 48 hours. Haley knew she looked like a wreck but at the moment she didn't care.

Nathan slowly lifted her off the ground and Haley pulled back and smiled. "I can't believe you came."

"I know. I shouldn't be here." Nathan walked backwards toward her bed. "I had to see you." He continued walking until the back of his knees touched the bed and he sat down, with her straddling in his lap. Nathan smirked at her as he kissed her again. "I can't stay long, but I needed to see you."

"I'm glad you did. Nathan, I miss you."

"I know. I miss you too. And it's not gonna be much longer. I promise. I think I've made good progress."

"Good. I hate this. I just want to be with you."

"I know. I do too. And we will be." Nathan checked his watch and groaned. "I have to go. I'm sorry."

"No. I don't want you to go." Haley whined.

"If I could stay here with you for the rest of my life, I would. Believe me. But I've gotta get back to the madness."

Haley reluctantly got off his lap so he could stand up. "Ok. When can I see you again?"

"I don't know. But soon. I promise." Nathan kissed her quickly on the mouth. "I gotta go."

"Ok."

Nathan walked to the door and stopped. He turned around and walked back over to her. He grabbed her cheeks with his hands and kissed her again. "Soon."

Haley nodded as he let her go and walked out the door.


	49. Chapter 48

Haley opened the front door of her house and Brooke walked in. "Hi. Thank you so much for meeting me." Haley said closing the door. "I've been going nuts not knowing what's been happening."

Brooke sat down on the couch and Haley joined her. "I don't have a lot of time."

"That's fine. How's Nathan doing? Is everything ok? What's going on in the house?"

"I told my mom that I had to get my paycheck from Tric, but I have to get back because she'll send someone there soon if I take too long."

"I really need your help, Brooke."

"But I can't stay, Haley."

"So she's got you hostage or something?"

"That's not it."

"You know, you don't have to do this. You don't have to deal with the bodyguards and the time clock. You don't have to stay in that house, Brooke."

"You don't seem to understand. I want to be there and so does Nathan. Our mom needs us right now. Look, I didn't come here to update you on Nathan or be your go between. I came here to tell you that you have to stay away from my brother."

Eyes went wide and her stomach dropped. "What? Can you please just explain to me why you changed your mind about Nathan and me?"

"It's dedication to the family."

"Well, I am part of the family." Haley argued.

"No, not really. And you have to understand that, Haley."

"No I don't have to understand it because it doesn't make any sense. Brooke, you were our biggest supporter. What happened?"

"I know and I'm sorry. But this is just not a good time now." Brooke stood up, but Haley grabbed her arm and then stood up.

"Wait a second. You said yourself that it was tearing Nathan up not being with me. We belong together."

"I know what I said, Haley. And I meant it. I know how much you and Nathan care about each other. Don't think that I don't care. I'm telling you this because I _do_ care."

"How is that?"

"Look, my mother needs Nathan right now and the family needs him. He wants to help."

"So you can just figure out who did this and someone else can die?"

Brooke crossed her arms over her chest. "Don't jump to any conclusions, Haley. We're just trying to make sure that our mother is safe just like everybody else. Ok? Look at you. The contempt you have for our way of life is so obvious. It's written all over you."

"Who's jumping to conclusions now, Brooke?"

"Please, Haley. You and Nathan have both said that your relationship can't work while he's part of the family. I'm not trying to hurt you, but it's true. I'm telling you the truth. We're different from you and your circle. There's no arguing it. I saw it."

"What are you talking about? When?"

"When I met Julian's family. His mother wasn't too happy that I was a Scott. And when she saw my driver waiting for me, well…she really looked at me in a whole new way."

"Can you really blame her, Brooke? Everybody knows what your family does for a living. Everyone knows and Sylvia was just being protective like any mother would be. But you had the same reaction, as I recall. You were ready to walk away from your family and leave your mother."

"I didn't understand her then, Haley. Her life was a mystery to me."

"She's got you in that house for two days and she's got your head all turned around."

"No."

"Have you forgotten that she has people killed? That she manipulates people, including her children, to get whatever she wants?"

"Don't talk about my mother like that. You don't know my mother, Haley." Brooke was starting to get angry. "She's trying to make the family business legitimate and she's gonna change."

"No she's not. She can't change, Brooke."

"She's going to change."

"Brooke, please open your eyes."

"You know, my mom told me about you. She told me that you wouldn't care. That you were just jealous."

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me."

"Jealous of what?"

"Of Nathan choosing us."

"That has nothing do with jealousy."

"Think about how selfish you're being, Haley. You're mad at Nathan because he wants to help his mother. He just wants to make what happened go away."

"No. Deb is not going to let it go away because if the problem goes away then Nathan goes away. Don't you get it?"

"You're wrong."

"I'm not wrong. She's using the situation to get you and Nathan back into the family."

"I told you. She's trying to make the family business go legitimate."

"No, she's not! She's telling you that because it's what you want to hear." Haley was beyond frustrated. Brooke wasn't thinking straight.

"Why can't you believe me when I tell you that my mom has changed?"

"How?"

"Well, it was her idea that I go meet Julian's family. She wants me to have life, a normal life. She wants our family to be just like everyone else's. She wants to move out of the old business."

"I pray to God that you're right, Brooke. I really do because I think something bad is gonna happen. I could see it in Nathan's eyes yesterday."

"Yesterday? He went to see you?"

"Yea. He snuck into my house. And you know what? He didn't stay long at all because he had to continue to look for this ghost of a person that tried to kill your mother. That's why I wanted to talk to you. I need to talk to him."

"That is exactly what I'm trying to tell you, Haley."

"What?"

"You have to stay away from Nathan, or you're gonna get my mother killed."

"Your mother is gonna be just fine. I'm sure of it. If there's anybody you should be worried about it's Nathan. Because Deb is so focused that he finds someone to pin this on, that he might do something crazy and innocent people might get hurt."

"You know what? I'm not talking about this anymore." Brooke quickly walked out the front door and left Haley standing in her house more frustrated than before she came over.

* * *

Nathan headed for the door of the Scott Mansion. He had meeting to figure out who was behind the attack, but Bear stepped in front of the door. "Move, Bear."

"Listen, at the rate you're going, you're gonna start a war. Hell, you'll go down in Scott family history."

"There's not gonna be a war. I'm just trying to flush out who tried to kill my mother."

"Nathan, you got no idea who this could be connected to. You're making it sound too easy."

"It's very easy, Bear."

"It's very easy? You're making assumptions about people, the wrong people. People are getting steamed. Next time, someone is gonna take a real whack at your mother."

"Excuse me? What do you mean real?"

"What?"

"You heard me. What are you talking about?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Bear, what do you know about the shooting that you're not telling me?"

"Look, all I'm trying to say is that it was lucky for your mother that nothing happened. And it was lucky for everybody. What I think you should do now is take a step back, get a little perspective and not go off unprepared."

"So you think I should-" His cell phone ringing interrupted the conversation. Nathan checked his phone and read the text message. "I gotta deal with this."

Bear reluctantly stepped aside and let Nathan leave.

* * *

Later that night Nathan sat outside on the steps of the Scott Mansion. He had talked to so many people today about the shooting, including Martin Gatina, the head of another crime family. He was exhausted and needed to catch his breath before he went back into his mother's house.

Nathan suddenly stood up when he heard saw a shadow coming toward the house. He reached for his gun in his belt, but let out a relieved breath when he saw Haley. "Haley, what the hell are you doing?"

Haley walked over to him. "I missed you."

"No. You've got to get out of here. It's too dangerous."

"Nathan, I tried staying away."

"Well, you gotta try harder. Go. You have to go home."

"Can you just listen to me for just a second? Nathan, I came here because I want to be here with you."

"I understand that. But you still can't be here."

"I've tried your way, ok. It's killing me. I'm your wife. I belong with you."

"I'm sorry. No. I can't allow this."

"You're not gonna change my mind. This is where I belong. Right beside you. No matter what." Haley brought her hand up and caressed his cheek. "Everyday you spend in that house makes it harder for us to be together."

Nathan grabbed her hand and laced his fingers through hers. "Don't say that. We'll be together. I promise. Right now you can't live here with me. As much as I want you to, you can't." Nathan placed his forehead against hers. "Hales, I want to be with you so bad. I can't sleep. I can't eat. But if let you back into this house you will become a target just like the rest of us."

Haley pulled back. "Nathan-"

"Haley, we could go to bed one night and not wake up. Don't you understand that?"

"Don't you understand that there's more protection here than there is at my house. At least I'll be with you. At least I won't be sitting by the phone worrying every time it rings."

"You've got to get that out of your mind."

Haley took a step back. "I can't."

"Well, you're gonna have to because if you come back here again, I'm gonna have to…I don't know, take you somewhere and lock you up."

"You're not gonna do that."

"I mean it, Haley. I am gonna do whatever it takes to keep you safe. Don't push me."

"Nathan."

"What?"

"I'm afraid, ok. I'm really afraid that your mother is gonna keep you in that house and we're not going to be together."

"Haley, please. You're making this harder than it already is."

"If you shut me out now, it will be just like your mother planned."

"What does that mean?"

"I'm sorry. But I really believe she set this up."

"Ok, why? Why do you think that?"

"Because she never would have put Brooke's life in danger and she didn't know that they were gonna be there. And when we got there she was saying what have I done? Not what have they done, what have _I_ done."

"Because she left the house unprotected. She felt responsible. That's all she meant." Nathan argued.

"I don't think so. I think she knew that an attempt on her life would bring you home and look what it did. It brought you home."

"Look, I'm not gonna talk about this anymore. You're going home. I'm gonna get Kenny to follow you. I'm sorry, Haley. This is the only way. I'm sorry."

Nathan turned and walked into the house to go get Kenny. When he shut the door Haley let out an aggravated sigh. What was she gonna do now?

* * *

Julian opened his front door and Haley walked in. "Hey, Jul-" Haley stopped when she saw Brooke standing in the living room. "Sorry. Listen, I really need to talk to you."

"He's all yours." Brooke said, grabbing her coat off the sofa.

"Wait, wait. Where are you going?" Julian asked.

"I'm gonna go so you guys can talk. I'll just go shopping or something. I'll see you later."

"Bye." Julian kissed her on the cheek and Brooke walked out the door.

Julian turned to Haley. "Sorry." She said.

"Did anyone ever tell you that your timing is really lousy?"

"I'm really sorry. I just really need to talk to you. I had nobody else to go to. It's about Nathan."

"Who else would it be about, Haley?" he mumbled.

Haley ignored his comment. "I went over to his house last night and he practically locked me out. I mean, it's like every single worst fear of mine is coming true. He's getting sucked back into that house. I can feel it and I can see it. Something's not right. I'm really afraid he's on the verge of doing something."

"Something like what?"

"I don't know. But I'm terrified, Julian."

"Look, I think you should follow Nathan's advice. Just cool it for now. At least until he figures everything out."

"No. Somebody has to make sure he sees what is really going on."

"Going on?"

"Yes. He was there for me, he married me, he was there for me after we got married, and he protected me from his family. That's all that I want to do. He says if I stay I'm gonna be in some kind of danger."

"Yea." Julian agreed.

"I know, but I'm willing to take that risk."

"Hales-"

"Julian, listen to me. This is something that I have to do. Someone has to be there to make sure that he sees that the enemy could be anybody."

"Exactly. That's why you should stay home. This is crazy, Haley. You're gonna get yourself killed."

"I don't want to lose him. I love him. I'm in love with him, Julian."

Julian pulled her into a hug. "I know you are. But that's why you should listen to him right now. He knows what he's talking about."

Haley pulled out of the hug and looked at him. "Julian, I didn't come here for you to talk me out of this."

"Out of what?"

"I don't know. But I don't trust his mother. I know that. So that's where you come in."

"Ok now you've completely lost me."

"You were there that night. So I want you to go over everything that happened. Something keeps nagging away at me about that night. Something isn't right."

"Hales, I've already told you everything about the night of the shooting."

"There has to be something that you left out. Please, Julian."

"Look, all I know is it was pretty much the scariest night of my life. At first I just didn't believe that it was happening and then I really did think that I was going to die. And it's crazy because all Brooke and I were gonna do is go pick up a dress and then go dancing at this club. She wasn't speaking to her mother so we decided we were going to go into the house and get the dress. We got to the house and it was dark, nobody was in there, it was quiet, it still wasn't very late. So I hung out in her mother's office while she went to go get the dress. I fixed the clock because I noticed it was wrong and she came back and that's when it happened. It was exactly 9:10. That's when the bullets started flying."

"No, it was nine o'clock." Haley argued.

"No it wasn't, Haley."

"Julian, the clock in my room said nine o'clock when Daunte called Nathan to tell him about the shooting."

"It was 9:10, Haley. You don't forget when you're about to get killed. In fact, there's an antique clock on the mantle of the fireplace that has a bullet in it. It's frozen at 9:10."

"Wait a minute. There's a clock frozen at the time of the shooting in that house?"

"Unless they threw it away, yea."

"Oh my God! Do you know what this means? Oh my…" Haley stood up. "This means that Daunte knew about this in advance. This means that he and Deb were in on it together because he called Nathan before the shooting actually happened."

"Woah, woah. Don't you think you're getting a little bit ahead of yourself here?"

"No I don't."

"Hales, Deb Scott would never let her family be put in a position to be hurt like that. You should have seen the woman's face when she thought Brooke was hurt."

"She didn't know you guys were going to be there. She had no idea. The first thing that came out of her mouth was what have I done."

"That could mean anything. Especially coming from this family." Julian argued.

"No. You know I'm right, Julian."

"Why? Why would she choose to shoot up her own house? That makes no sense."

"So Nathan and Brooke will go back and protect her. That's exactly what happened and that's what they did. That's why they're there now. Listen, do me a favor and promise me you're not gonna tell anyone about this until I know." Haley headed for the door.

Julian stood up and grabbed her arm. "Wait, wait, wait. Where are you going?"

"I'm gonna go because if that clock is still in that house, I can prove who's behind the shooting."

"Haley, please don't do anything crazy here."

"I'm not gonna do anything crazy. I'm just gonna make sure that I've got her. I've got Deb Scott." Haley smiled and headed out the door.

* * *

Nathan walked into the church and headed toward Chase's office. He had called him because he needed someone to talk to that understood him and his family. And that was Chase. They had grown up together and were only months apart. Honestly, Chase was his best friend.

Nathan knocked on the door and opened it. Chase was sitting at his desk doing some paper work. "You look even worse than you sounded on the phone."

Nathan sat down in the chair across from his desk. "I can't sleep."

"Yea. That's what you said."

"Look, I need to talk to you. You understand how we operate."

"Nate, what exactly are we talking about here?"

"I may have to do something drastic."

"Drastic?"

"It's the only way I think I'm gonna be able to do it."

"Do what?"

"Get back with the woman I love. Look, I don't know who's after my family. But shots were fired, Brooke was almost killed and that demands retaliation."

"Or you could forget about it and let the police handle it."

"Chase, I have to do something before whoever did this goes after Haley and tries to use her to get to me."

"I thought you sent her home."

"I did, but she showed up at my house last night and she wanted to be with me. I mean, it killed me to send her away and I almost gave in."

"But you didn't, Nate."

"Yea, because I know what they'll do to her if they find out we're still married. I can't live like this anymore."

"Do you have any idea who might be behind this? The Taggaros again? Maybe it was Martin Gatina and his group. Nate, you have to know something."

"Haley thinks it was my mother."

"Deb?"

"Yea. I just have to find out who did this and take care of it so we can stop all this finger pointing."

"Nate, it's one thing to have family loyalty. But what are you gonna do when you find this so called enemy?"

"You know what I'll do, Chase."

"Come on, Nate. That was Dan's way."

"It's what is expected of me as head of this family. Maybe it's time for some violent measures to put an end to the threat."

"You really think the end justifies the means?"

"In this case, yes. I think I can live with it."

"But can Haley? Nate, I think you have to put your marriage first. Everything you do or consider doing should be weighed against the future."

"Chase, you're talking like I should just turn my back on this and ride off into the sunset with Haley. You know I can't do that."

"You're not sure that you want to."

"Look, I have an obligation to my family."

"What about an obligation to yourself?"

"How can I love my family and just turn the other cheek when something like this happens? How? You tell me. Give me some viable solution or another way out of this and I'll take it. And I'm not talking about the road you took."

"Nate, I don't know what you should do. But realize that whatever you decide to do now will have an enormous impact on your life. Once you take the step you're contemplating, you can never go back."

"You know what? Forget it. I'm sorry I came to you with this. It's my problem and I don't want to put you in the middle." Nathan stood up and walked to the door.

"Nate-"

"Chase, forget it. It's done."

Nathan opened the door and left, leaving an extremely confused Chase sitting there.

* * *

Haley quietly opened the door to Deb office. She told the guards at the front gate that Nathan had asked her to come get something from the house and take it to him. All the lights were off and she was glad Deb and Daunte seemed to be out for the moment.

She spotted the clock on the mantle and walked over to it. It was frozen at 9:10. Exactly the way Julian said it would be. "I can't believe this. I know who the enemy is Nathan. It's your mother."

Haley grabbed the clock off the mantle and headed out of the house. She had her now.


End file.
